The Variables in the Solution
by an asian to the knee
Summary: Explores the story of Noatak and his transformation into the Equalist leader Amon from the day he abandons Tarrlok and Yakone through the first episode of The Legend of Korra, where Amon is first introduced canonically. Rated T for darker, not so happy-go-lucky themes that Noatak comes in contact with along the way.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi, everybody! Thanks for taking a look at my story. This is basically me exploring what happened between the North Pole and the Amon we see in the first episode of LOK. This is my first FF, so some advice would be cool. XD**

**Word of warning: I tend to draw out all of my plots, so that's why there might be a few chapters where it's like "when's such-and-such going to happen?". I divide things up how I think they should be, is all.**

It was cold.

No, that was inaccurate. It wasn't cold. It was frigid. It was chilling. It was a biting cold that spiked through his double-layered parka to freeze his bones. It was arid and refreshing and painful at the same time, and, for the moment, the chill howled like the wolves he had dealt with only too many times to count in his young lifetime. Noatak burrowed his nose into the collar of his parka, the wolf fur tickling his nostrils and cheeks, and narrowed his eyes against the whistling winds and impatiently shook away the rogue strands of hair whipping at his face. He wasn't, however, desperate enough to clear his vision to the point where he would have to use his fingers. No, Noatak's fingers were going to be as warm as they could get, shoved under his armpits while he bowed over low against the storm and dragging his legs through the layers of unforgiving, powder white snow. He wasn't completely certain, but he was pretty sure he couldn't tell where his toes were anymore. They were probably numb. That wasn't good.

He had to admit, he really should've planned this better. Noatak had always been careful, and he'd always been the one to plan out his next step. But this was completely unanticipated. He was so pitifully prepared for this that it was almost laughable. He had no food, no shelter, and all he had were the clothes on his back that did nothing to dull the merciless winds. This was so unlike him. It was Tarrlok that was the impulsive one. Tarrlok was the one that lets his emotions get the better of him. Tarrlok—

_Don't think about him,_ Noatak sternly snapped to himself, his eyebrows impulsively furrowing into a hard crease. _Don't think about any of it._

It was easier said than done, however. Out here in the cold, at night, in the middle of a harsh blizzard, there were few things that Noatak could think about to keep himself occupied. He let out a slow breath to warm the tip of his nose, his chin still pressed hard against his chest, trying to focus on nothing more than putting one foot in front of the other. Tarrlok, he knew, would be sure to search for him as soon as the kid was able, and Yakone would probably give some effort, as well. He wouldn't be able to bear losing his one perfect weapon to wreak his revenge on Republic City. Noatak felt his lip curl under the collar before shaking himself. He couldn't spend time dwelling on this. He had to find shelter, and he had to find it fast, or he was going to freeze out here. What he wouldn't have given to be a firebender, right about now.

But he wasn't. He was a waterbender. And he hated himself for it.

But it would be stupid not to take advantage of his assets. Maybe he could make himself an igloo out of the snow? That wouldn't make it much warmer, true, but it would be a vast improvement from the storm he was walking through, right now. He could hear Yakone now, telling him to stop being a fool and start acting like the great bender he is. Noatak impatiently pushed the stray thought away before he was imagining what Tarrlok would be doing in this situation. He'd be crying, no doubt, in fear, convinced that the two of them were going to die in this storm, and Noatak would end up doing all the work. As usual. He heard himself snort, but he felt oddly detached from himself. It was probably the fact that he was _freezing, _though, so Noatak pushed himself to hasten his pace.

Suddenly, impulsively, uncharacteristically, Noatak second guessed himself, wondering if he should've just dragged Tarrlok along with him. He had to wince a little when he recalled his last words to his younger brother. He called him a weakling. While a part of him had to agree that this was true, Noatak knew that he shouldn't have said something like that, especially after Yakone had said something so similar just before. His father had been a source of pain for him, and now Tarrlok's older brother had betrayed him as well.

For a moment, Noatak thought he heard Tarrlok's shrill cries begging him to return being carried by the wind, and he whirled, looking behind him. He felt his heart leap with something he couldn't place—whether it was fear or excitement or happiness or something else entirely—but after a quick scan, he saw that he was alone. The tundra stretched out for miles, the snowstorm already covering up his footprints and erasing any trace that he'd ever been here. He should've felt relieved that it would take Tarrlok and Yakone that much longer to track him down, but what Noatak really felt was bitterness. Who was he, really, except a son-turned-weapon by his own father?

_Not father,_ Noatak reminded himself shortly, _Yakone. A criminal. Someone weak. Pitiful and desperate._

But in his current predicament, Noatak couldn't say much more about himself. He felt a shudder wrack through him as he trudged forward. Wasn't this storm ever going to stop?

Suddenly, Noatak's foot gave away from under him with an audible _crack!_ Gasping and his heart leaping up his throat, Noatak threw out his arms to try and slow himself down or maybe waterbend the snow and break his fall. Before he could gather his wits, however, Noatak crashed through the hole and onto very hard and very solid ice. Groaning, Noatak lied there for a moment, trying to assess the damage without making anything worse. So far, from what he could tell, his entire face was stinging and his nose was screaming, and his body in general was aching, but it didn't seem like anything was broken.

Gritting his teeth, Noatak forced himself to shift, to move, to give even a _twitch, _and almost immediately cried out in pain. It seemed that he was more injured than he thought. Not about to try his luck, he settled back into his lopsided, splayed out position, half on his arm and his legs crossed over each other awkwardly behind. Taking a few, bracing breaths, Noatak experimentally wiggled his fingers and his toes. He was relieved to feel his fingers moving underneath him, but with a short throb he realized that he couldn't tell whether his toes were moving or not. They must've been number than he realized.

Panting a little, Noatak shifted so his cheek was resting on the ice instead of his nose. The sharp shivers that rippled through him were much more pronounced now, but at least he wasn't in danger of breaking his nose. He blinked hard, his brow crinkling in concentration, as he tried to figure out how to get out of this situation. Clearly, moving around too much wasn't the best option. But he couldn't stay here forever.

_You'll wait, then, _Noatak told himself. _You'll wait a little while and then see how you feel. _

That seemed as good a plan as any, so Noatak tried to settle down and relax. He focused on relaxing each of his muscles one at a time, rehearsing his waterbending breathing exercises in a measured beat. In through the nose, out of the mouth. In, out. In, out. He closed his eyes to shut out all the other distractions, feeling his blood pounding through his veins and his heart's every twitch and palpitation. Every wet sounding rush was magnified to Noatak's trained ear. With another exhale, he could feel the air chill and crystallize a little in front of him.

Slowly, Noatak mentally worked through every waterbending move that he had learned, envisioning the movements he would have to do and feeling the familiar rush of energy prickling through his body. It was an ephemeral, fleeting sensation, but it was in those moments that Noatak knew that the Spirits hadn't abandoned him. They would be constant in his life, even when everyone else wouldn't.

* * *

_Tarrlok watched with awe and adoration, his clear blue eyes like the sky wide open. Noatak smiled faintly, twisting his fingers and waving around the small pool of water with almost childish ease. He had never shown anyone that he could do this before, but there was no way that he couldn't show Tarrlok._

_ "How do you do that?" Tarrlok asked breathlessly, his eyes following the water, completely mesmerized. _

_ "I don't know," Noatak replied honestly. "I just can."_

_ "I want to try!" Tarrlok declared, taking off his gloves and carefully placed them next to his legs. Noatak paused for a moment, staring contemplatively at the blue fabric. Their mother had just finished that pair the night before, and Tarrlok treated the gloves like they were Tui and La. Noatak couldn't help but glance at the gloves haphazardly strewn in his lap, ratty and thinning with age. _

_ For a moment, Tarrlok frowned in concentration, his face overshadowed by rare focus. His fingers were curled and suspended in the air, his eyes glaring expectantly at the snow beneath him. The pair of them paused for a few moments, holding their breaths for who-knows-what._

_ "Nothing's happening!" Tarrlok whined, and his arms flopped back to the ground, his shoulders slumping and his lips pouting, defeated. Noatak felt a flash of triumph before stifling the feeling guiltily, assuring Tarrlok that he'll get it eventually and secretly hoping he wouldn't. He switched the water from his right to his left hand, using his now free right hand to pat Tarrlok's shoulder awkwardly._

_ "What's going on?" a familiar voice rumbled, and Tarrlok and Noatak jumped in place, the water suspended in the air now abruptly bursting and splashing onto the ice._

_ "Nothing," Noatak replied quickly, staring evenly into his father's eyes. He looked somewhat amused, sure that his two sons were doing what all boys did, roughhousing in the snow and acting worse than a pair of polerbeardogs. Then Noatak thought he spotted his father's glance flicker to the foreign puddle of water that was most decidedly _un_frozen. _

_ "I see," Noatak's father replied, his smile seeming to freeze in place. There was a moment of tense silence before he continued, "I'll just leave you two to it, then." _

_ And he left them there, like he said he would, and Noatak and Tarrlok looked at each other in mutual bemusement before returning to playing with the magic water. _

_ That night, Noatak's father asked over his sharkeel soup, "How would you two boys like to go hunting next week?"_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: OMG PEOPLE ACTUALLY LOOKED.**

**Thanks for the welcome, everyone. Like I said, the beginning will be slow, but I do know where I'm going with this! So you'll just have to trust me.**

**I do believe I'll do weekly updates. I'm actually on chapter eight right now in the main document, but I don't want to kill me buffer, and I kind of want to check over chapters before posting them.**

**Well, that had no point whatsoever. **

**tl;dr: weekly updates. On Fridays.**

* * *

Noatak awoke with a start.

He sucked in a lungful of air, immediately noting the constricted feeling around his chest, the absence of ice and snow, and the feeling of cloth underneath him.

Heaving, Noatak sat up, his heart pounding. He snapped his head around, taking in his surroundings. He seemed to be alone for now. From what he could gather, it looked like he was inside a tent made out of many animal pelts, the framework made of supple bamboo wood. It was a struggle to get quality bamboo wood up in the Water Tribes. Usually villagers used the stiffer but more readily available pines to build their homes. Noatak wondered if these people had their wood imported.

The inner layer of padding was made completely of woven strips of bamboo. A few spots had bristles of polar leopards and buffalo yaks poking through—to keep in the heat, Noatak knew. He presumed that the outside layer would be packed well with turtle seal skins to keep moisture from seeping inside. Craning his neck, Noatak spotted a covered up hole which he knew could be flipped open and shut at will.

Sitting up completely, Noatak now observed his current state. It seemed like he'd been laid out on a stretch of polar leopard pelt and his chest and right shoulder completely bandaged to the point of suffocation. He ran a hand over the wrappings. They were done well and by a practiced hand. He tried to roll his shoulders, but the binds around his shoulder forced them to stay it to stay in one place. It was probably just as well; even from his slight movement, Noatak could tell that he must've done _something _to his shoulder and ribs. He was already aching, and he had just gotten up.

"Oh, you're up," someone noted from the entrance, and Noatak heard the entrance flaps flutter open. He flinched but forced himself not to whip around, wary of his wounds. For his sake, the speaker stepped forward into his view.

It was a young girl, probably two years older than Noatak, her hair done up in a complicated basket on her head with a single long braid as a tail. Noatak wondered how she could manage with such a weight. She was wearing a long parka, its hem swooping down past her calves and her sleeves voluminous. The material was a bright, royal blue, and the fur lining was pearly white, stiff, and straight. In her hands was a large jug of water. Already, Noatak could feel the irrevocable push and pull the smallest ripple sent through him. He blinked as she cocked her head inquiringly.

"How're you feeling?" the girl asked kindly, unperturbed by Noatak's lack of reply. He stared at her with a bored, stony gaze, giving nothing away. The girl considered him with a patient smile for a moment more before moving on, "We were worried. You were out for about a day."

A day? Noatak felt himself start a little at that. The girl chuckled a little but saved him from his embarrassment, turning around to place the jug on the floor while a stricken face crossed him. An entire day lost? Were Tarrlok and Yakone in this tiny little village right now, searching for him?

"I'm Kaya," the girl introduced herself, straightening out and brushing off her hands. "And you're…?"

Noatak said nothing.

A small flicker of annoyance and discomfort crossed Kaya's expression, but otherwise she didn't point out his ingratitude. Instead, she said, "How are you feeling?"

Apparently it was just a formality; Kaya stepped forward without waiting for Noatak to respond. Clearly she no longer expected any replies from Noatak. Well, now at least he wouldn't have to pretend to pay attention to what Kaya was saying. Still, he was curious about the time that he had lost over the course of an entire day, so while he tuned out the prattling, Noatak keyed into everything else.

Kaya continued to say something about how everyone was worried about Noatak and that he was found by a group of children that often played in the ice tunnels near the village. She obviously considered him lucky to be alive, and Noatak had to admit that she was right. He thought he was going to freeze completely last night.

"Anyways, you seem to be making a nice recovery," Kaya finished, "but you should probably stay in bed for another day or two. A couple of your ribs were bruised and your arm was nearly broken. Don't push it, okay?"

"You don't have a healer?" Noatak finally croaked out, his voice gravelly and hoarse from misuse. Kaya glanced up to meet his eyes, but he was just as expressionless as he was before. Still, he could tell she knew what he meant: a waterbender with healing abilities. If one was in this village, Noatak would be up and about right now, heading towards the next village.

"I _am _the healer," Kaya told him with a small smile. Noatak felt his brow crinkle. She must've noticed, because she explained, "We don't have any waterbenders in this village. Or any benders, really. It's just us."

Just them. Suddenly, Noatak felt extremely out of place, as if he were some sort of parasite instead of a patient. No waterbenders? No benders at all? It was like he had come and disrupted the balance of this tiny little village.

At least nothing extremely bad had happened yet, but Noatak thought that he probably shouldn't tempt fate. By now he was sure Tarrlok was crying out for him, and Yakone was most likely taking out his anger of losing his one chance of getting his revenge on Tarrlok. Noatak's heart twisted at the thought, but he batted it away. He couldn't afford to think like that now.

"So you'll have to be patient a little while longer," Kaya told him crisply. "You won't be going anywhere with those injuries. Or at least," Kaya added with some amusement, perhaps spotting Noatak's hardened, determined glare, "not easily."

Knowing when he was defeated, Noatak fell back into a lying position, a deep sigh escaping him. Smiling sympathetically, Kaya kneeled beside him and pulled the jug closer to her, the hardened clay grinding a little along the ice-packed floor.

"So why are you so desperate to leave?" Kaya asked conversationally, wringing out a rag soaked with water. "Are you heading home or something?"

Noatak shut his eyes as the rag came down on his forehead, relaxing as he felt the cooling water. How ironic, this peaceful village healer thinking that the only possible explanation was because he was so desperate to _get_ home, not run from it. As the rag was removed, however, and Noatak glanced at her, he could tell that she suspected a much less innocent reason.

"I'm just trying to get as far from home as possible," Noatak said shortly, and Kaya nodded in satisfaction, pleased that Noatak was willing to speak. She didn't pry, however, instead returning to the jug and soaking the rag again.

"Where am I?"

"This village is along the bay," Kaya told him willingly. "It's a trading village that gets imports that also go to the Northern Water Tribe." That explained all the bamboo and Kaya's clearly fresh-bought parka.

"The Northern Water Tribe is a short boat ride away, really. If you had kept going in the direction you were, you might have come across it."

The Northern Water Tribe. Noatak had heard of the great city—the only major one that did not fall during the Hundred Year War. He had never been there, instead staying secluded in his little village. The temptation to go visit it, a city that was completely run by waterbending, was almost overwhelming. What would it be like, to be surrounded by others that were just like him?

_Not _just _like you,_ he whispered to himself. _How many of those waterbenders do you want to bet are bloodbenders? Or the sons of Yakone?_

"Were you headed there?" Kaya asked, interrupting Noatak's thoughts.

"Yes," Noatak lied automatically.

"Really?" Kaya said, apparently surprised. Noatak couldn't blame her. How had her villagers found him? He was probably still out cold, lying in ice tunnels, covered in injuries and almost frozen to death. That didn't seem like the kind of man that was planning on anything. Luckily, Kaya was not one to ask questions, and Noatak thanked the Spirits that he had come across such a naïve village.

"I guess you're going to see all the waterbenders, huh?" Kaya chuckled. "I hear they're really something. I went there once, and I saw all the waterbender healers. It was incredible."

"I'll bet," Noatak agreed. There was silence, and Noatak realized that Kaya was waiting for him to answer her first question. He obliged, saying, "My village is really small, so I thought that seeing the Northern Water Tribe would be fun."

_Fun. _That seemed like such a strange word to Noatak, and for a moment he had to pause and process what that really meant. He wasn't sure if he had ever had real "fun" in his lifetime. Not yet, at least. Sure, he laughed and joked around with Tarrlok a few times, but it was mostly to keep his brother happy, not himself. What was "fun", really?

"It's a great place," Kaya said encouragingly. "You should definitely go and see it."

"That's the plan," Noatak breathed wearily, sinking into sleep. Distantly, he heard Kaya chuckle before drifting off.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: eh. You know what. The other chapter was pretty bland, so to convince you that I'm not totally wasting your time, here's chapter three.**

* * *

It took Noatak three entire days to completely recover from his injuries, which Kaya assured him was a feat, but it wasn't good enough for Noatak. It was three days that he'd lost and three days that Tarrlok and Yakone spent trying to find him, although hopefully they'd think he was dead, now.

Hopefully they'd think he was dead. Noatak didn't miss the morbidity of that sentiment, but he didn't dwell on it. It was time for him to move on. It was time to remake himself. He had to get away from this place. The snow held too many sad stories.

"Noatak," Kaya prompted him on the morning of the third day, and Noatak forced himself out of his reverie to turn to her coming out of the hut.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Noatak replied flatly before he added, "Thanks to you."

Kaya smiled, finding his improved mood a good sign.

Noatak turned back to the center square of the village, the large stone pit still smoldering a little, as the villagers began to wake up. A few began shuffling out of their homes, yawning and stretching, a few waving and nodding at Noatak. They recognized him, no doubt, from when the children had dragged him through the village to Kaya's home, but otherwise he was pretty much unknown. Kaya had hardly let him out of the hut (probably thinking that Noatak would run off at the first chance he got, which was probably not a long shot), so this was really the first time that he was feeling the fresh, bracing air of the North Pole. Noatak hadn't realized how much he had missed it. He took a deep breath in and savored the clean smells of the air.

"So where are you headed now?" Kaya asked quietly, silently joining him in his vigil. Noatak stared off into the clear pole sky and frowned a little.

"I'm not sure," Noatak said truthfully before hastily adding, "I mean, I know that I was headed for the Northern Water Tribe, but we both know how that turned out." He glanced over to shoot her a rueful smile.

"So you're saying you need a ride?" Kaya clarified.

"That would certainly be nice, but I don't see how—"

"Noatak, we're a trading village, remember? Ships come and go from here all the time, including ships from the Northern Water Tribe. I'm sure a few of our merchants won't mind letting you tag along."

Noatak considered Kaya doubtfully, dubious that any merchant would just let anyone come along with them.

"Trust me on this," Kaya said. "They'll be fine with it, and if I put in a good word that pretty much seals the deal."

_It must be nice, _Noatak thought to himself, _to live in a village as easy going as this. _Aloud, he thanked Kaya, who nodded in approval and walked off to some place.

That left Noatak standing alone to absorb the sensations of the North Pole. Right now it was in the middle of spring, but of course that didn't stop the freezing chill setting in at night. And the storm that Noatak was in a few nights ago was one of the tamer ones. He shivered at the thought of being stuck in a true, full blown winter storm.

The temptation to bend the snow, to begin to practice his waterbending exercises like he'd done in secret for years now, made his fingertips itch, but Noatak forced himself to control the urge. He was nervous about what the others in the village might think of him. They were a peaceful village, and Noatak was hesitant to disrupt their rhythm by blatantly practicing bending in front of them all, even if he seriously doubted they would lift a finger against him. Completely peaceful.

Suddenly, Noatak toppled into the snow as some unknown force tackled him in the legs. He cried out, snow filling his mouth and nearly choking him. Flailing, his legs bound together, Noatak struggled under the weight of the snow and whatever was holding him down. For a moment he feared the worst, wondering if Yakone had caught up to him and Tarrlok had frozen ice around his legs. Faintly, he heard gleeful laughter, and Noatak realized that this wasn't some attack…at least, not the threatening kind.

Abruptly, out of frustration and worn patience, Noatak waterbended the snow off of him and sat up, frowning at the children holding him down. They paused, staring at Noatak's raised hand and the pile of snow off of the way that had apparent moved through the air by itself. Noatak cringed, thinking that they were going to cry out, but instead they stifled him further, landing on his chest, which hurt.

A lot.

"Get off me!" Noatak tried to order them, the aches beginning to return, but the jumping children didn't hear him—or at least, they pretended they didn't. They shouted and demanded he do the magic trick again, pestering him with questions: how did he do it? Could they do it? What was it called?

"Children!" a familiar voice ordered, and Noatak felt a rush of relief as he recognized it was Kaya.

"Get off of him!" she said, and guiltily the children slid off of Noatak, who quickly stood up and put a hand on his chest. He massaged it lightly, trying to calm his pounding heart.

"What were you thinking?" Kaya admonished them, a stern look on her face. She strode over to Noatak and the children—who numbered only three, Noatak was surprised to see—and went on with her chastising.

"This man is my patient, and he was hurt badly. Why would you tackle him like that?" The children hung their heads in shame.

"We just wanted to say hi," one of them—a boy—mumbled, and Noatak nearly snorted. Some greeting.

"And is that how you say hello to someone?" Kaya asked, a brow arched. The three kids shook their heads vigorously.

"So what do you say now?"

"Sorry!" the kids chorused, looking up and simpering at Noatak, who cringed. He had no idea how to deal with kids, especially when they looked like they were on the verge of crying. The only baby he ever had to deal with was Tarrlok, and even then their mother did all the work.

"Uh," Noatak stuttered, "yeah, sure. No problem."

Immediately, the children's faces lit up, all of their guilt forgotten, as they jumped up and down and asked him about his magic trick once more.

"'Magic'?" Kaya echoed, glancing at Noatak, who shrugged awkwardly. There was no use trying to hide it now.

"Waterbending," he muttered, glaring at the snow. Kaya was speechless, and Noatak prepared himself for the worst, when she burst out, "Wow, that's incredible! You're a waterbender? Would you mind showing me something? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Noatak wondered if she was kidding, but when he looked up, she was excited and awestruck. Between her and the kids at his feet, he wasn't sure what choice he had. Sighing, he removed the gloves on his hands and eased himself into his usual stance. The others watched with breathless appeal.

He had to admit, he was kind of enjoying the attention. Noatak exaggerated some of his movements to the point where he felt ridiculous, but everyone followed each twitch with excitement. He felt a small smile creep onto his face as he made the snow rise, divided it into multiple balls the size of his fist, created a ring around the five of them, and melted the snowballs, the snow becoming fluid water. With a sweep of his arms, the separate water spheres became one cohesive ring, rushing around them with such speed that it teased everyone's hair and practically made Kaya's braid dance. The children were cheering and jumping up and down. Noatak felt a strange, warm glow burst inside of him as he caught Kaya's eye. She was impressed, he could tell, and he smiled a bit sheepishly, not knowing how he was supposed to feel. He'd never considered his bending as a source of entertainment before.

With finesse, Noatak burst the water into millions of tiny droplets before taking a deep, slow breath and released frigid air from his mouth. Snow drifted down on their heads, and the children busied themselves trying to catch each one on their tongues while Kaya approached him, gushing.

"That was amazing! I never thought I'd meet another waterbender! I've only met a few during my one visit to the Northern Water Tribe. You're incredible!"

"It's nothing," Noatak shrugged, feeling unusually modest.

"No wonder you want to go to the Northern Water Tribe!" Kaya laughed, shaking her head. Noatak's smile faded a little, his head cocked in a silent question.

"Well, they have the best waterbenders in the world, right?" Kaya prompted him. "And I heard the waterbending master Katara is going to be visiting this week, too. And, of course, Avatar Aang. They're pretty much joined at the hip."

"Master Katara?" Noatak repeated, his eyes widening. He felt his jaw drop. _The _Master Katara? It was rare of her to visit the Northern Water Tribe. From what little Noatak heard of the wife of the Avatar from Yakone (and he suspected a lot of it was untrue), master Katara spent most of her time in the Earth Kingdom, making rounds with Avatar Aang. Next to the sheer size of the Earth Kingdom, the Northern Water Tribe rarely saw the famous pair of lovers.

"You didn't know?" Kaya frowned, surprised. "Well, all the more reason to go, right?"

"Without a doubt!" Noatak exclaimed, strangely excited. He didn't think he'd get a chance to actually be _taught _by the famous waterbending Master, but even just _seeing _her…he heard that Master Katara was the only waterbender to master all subforms of waterbending—Northern style, Southern style, Swamp style, healing...

Bloodbending. Noatak's smile waned a little, thinking about it. Master Katara was the one that outlawed bloodbending, after all, and it was no secret that she herself was one of the few bloodbenders in the world. How else would she have known about it, after all? It was the same law that forced Yakone into exile, and Noatak had no doubt that Master Katara wouldn't be happy to know that Noatak was a bloodbender, himself.

Kaya blinked twice, confused by Noatak's shift in mood, but told him instead, "I just talked to Korjaq. He said that he could take you along the shoreline on his trading ship to the Northern Water Tribe tomorrow morning. He has some goods to pick up from there."

"Sounds great," Noatak nodded, his chipper tone a bit forced. He cleared his throat as the children stopped their roughhousing.

"Magic water man!" they called him, and Noatak whipped around, thankful for the distraction.

"Magic water man," the single girl addressed him, "are you better, now?"

"They're the kids that found you in the ice tunnels," Kaya explained.

"Are they?" Noatak said. He kneeled down so he was eye level with them. "Well, then, thank you very much. You saved my life, you know. I'm much better."

The girl flushed with embarrassment and the two boys behind her scuffed the ground and grinned, pleased.

"Can you do something else?" one of the boys asked him.

"Children, Mister Noatak just got better. You really shouldn't make him stressed."

Noatak shot Kaya a grateful look, but the other three looked so crestfallen that Noatak gave in anyway. Putting a hand on his head, he said with a sigh, "I guess one more trick wouldn't hurt."

With a cheer, the kids promptly collapsed onto the ground, an attentive of an audience as any. As the day wore on, however, Noatak didn't show them just one move, or two, or three, but at least twenty of them—probably more! By the time he was finished, Noatak was out of breath and sweating, his shoulder bothering him again. The sun had just passed its zenith, and it was late afternoon.

"No more, guys," Noatak waved at them, ignoring their whines. "I'm tired. Enough for today."

More complaints. Noatak felt his patience snap, and he whirled around, exclaiming, "Look, I said enough, okay? I'm tired and I'm hungry and I don't want to do any more of these stupid tricks for you anymore, got it? Just leave me alone!"

His voice echoed through the village, and Noatak looked up to find quite a few of the villagers staring at him. He grimaced, realizing what he must look like: an insensitive brat that shouts at kids and couldn't be good enough to do a few more favors for them. This was why his mother never let him babysit Tarrlok for too long. He always made him cry, one way or another.

Just as he thought it, the three kids began to bawl, thrashing and crying and hiccupping into the snow. Noatak stood there, panic stricken. What was he supposed to do now? He desperately looked around for Kaya, seeking help. When he didn't see her, he kneeled and frowned at the three of them.

"Don't cry, guys," he said, forcing his voice to be a bit more amicable. He waved a hand and gently bended the tears from their cheeks. They stopped crying, but their sniffles were enough for the villagers to keep staring, so Noatak continued softly, "Look, I'm really tired, okay? I'm not all better yet and I've shown you all of these waterbending moves all day. I can't do any more for you, and my shoulder hurts now. So sorry, but that's it. Okay?"

They looked like they were about to cry again. Great. Noatak felt a surge of frustration. He was tired and injured! What was he supposed to do? Work himself to the brink of death so these kids wouldn't cry? Sighing, Noatak stood up abruptly and disappeared into Kaya's hut, leaving them outside. Noatak sulked, stomping over to his bedding and sitting down, crossing his arms.

Later, Kaya would come in and get the full story, and she would be sympathetic enough. But Noatak would be able to tell that she wasn't happy with his attitude, either, and Noatak wouldn't try and defend himself.

Once again, waterbending had betrayed him.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: literally my self-restraint lasted like 25 hours.**

**Okay, well, here's chapter four, and chapter five should be up in like 10 minutes. Because I feel super bad that these are such boring chapters. Sorry, it won't really pick up until like the Earth Kingdom, really. **

**But hey! We'll meet Katara soon, and I just finished writing out the scene where Noatak meets some familiar faces. :)**

**Anyways. Just keep reading and don't lose too much faith in me. ;~;**

* * *

In the end, it was really just Kaya that came to say goodbye. Noatak had to get up at the crack of dawn to catch Korjaq and his trading ship, which was really just a really large longboat with a square hut in the center. It was flat and had walls along the side as well as the trademark coils at the front and end, and the sides were decorated with a simple but familiar blue wave pattern. Noatak was expecting that there would be a below decks, a steering wheel, and some sails at least for a trading ship, but clearly Korjaq liked to be simple.

_Really _simple. The only storage found was the square hut built right on top of the deck. There were no below decks, and the only place to rest was a laid out blanket in the little hut, and basically all the room was taken up by decorated pots and baskets trademark to the Water Tribe. Apparently, Korjaq was about the only trader in the entire village, which was why Noatak didn't have many options to choose from.

As for the steering wheel and sails, all Korjaq had to work with was a rudder and an oar attached to the back of the boat. Noatak noted the older man's well-honed arms, and he wasn't surprised at the strength that he held. Still, most of the time Korjaq admitted that he really depended on the current of the ocean and rows only if he has to.

So you could imagine his excitement when he heard that Noatak was a waterbender. Almost immediately, he put Noatak to work. He had hardly put down his hand after waving goodbye to Kaya when Korjaq ordered him to hasten their pace down the shoreline.

"So Noatak," Korjaq drawled, splayed out on the deck of the boat and stroking his long, graying beard, "how long do you think you'll be in the Northern Water Tribe?"

"Don't know," Noatak replied, focusing on pulling the ocean water past, rocking forward and back with the ebbs and flows. The rhythm and routine of the motion was soothing, and Noatak tried to empty his mind of all other distractions.

Not that Korjaq was making it easy for him. The old man seemed to be a gossip addict, pestering Noatak with this question and that, and he found himself missing Kaya's quiet acceptance. He was worse than a pair of old Water Tribe women.

"Because you know," Korjaq said, and Noatak could just imagine him nodding with self-assurance, "Kaya's a pretty good looking young woman."

"She's at least three years older than me," Noatak said impatiently, although he knew that didn't count for much. Even in cultures outside of the Water Tribes, three years was nothing. There was just something weird about going out with a girl that was older than he was.

"Like _that _matters," Korjaq snorted, only reaffirming what Noatak already knew. A frown began to crease his face.

"You two seem to get along pretty well. Anything happen to y'all in her tent of yours?"

"No," Noatak replied dryly.

"Aw, you aren't any fun," Korjaq moaned. Noatak shut his eyes to try and blot him out before opening them again and continued with his waterbending.

"She isn't betrothed, you know," Korjaq pointed out unctuously. "If you were ever—"

"Korjaq," Noatak sighed, controlling his anger, "I'm trying to make us go faster here. If you frustrate me any more I might upend us."

"Yeah, whatever," Korjaq scoffed, but after that he shut up.

By midday, the ship had arrived at the gates of the Northern Water Tribe, and Noatak let the other waterbenders do their job, gratefully sitting down on the deck and resting his legs. He stared up in awe at the primary wall, built completely of ice, with the Water Tribe insignia declaratively blazoned on the surface. He'd never seen anything of such grandeur, and he realized for the first time under what humble beginnings he'd started in. He was a villager's son, born in a village isolated from the world. As the boat began to enter through the countless waterbenders controlling the canals, Noatak couldn't help but feel inadequate. What was he, really, compared to all of these others? It was the first time he'd ever felt second best at something (for once, he understood how Tarrlok felt all those training sessions with Yakone).

Acting like a small child, Noatak craned his neck over the edges of the boat, his eyes widening as he watched the rush of water drain and the ship sinking below the walls of the canal. He stared up and shamelessly gaped, watching every move the waterbenders made. Unconsciously, he began to mimic them.

Suddenly, the ship began to rock, and Noatak and Korjaq shook and bucked on the deck. From above, some of the waterbenders shouted down, clearly annoyed.

"Stop bending the water!" one demanded, sounding impatient, like he was talking to a small child. Jumping, Noatak glanced at the water that was churning, being pushed by the waterbenders on the canal walls and pulled by Noatak. Cringing, Noatak withdrew his hands, wishing he could shrink down so he wouldn't be the subject of the waterbenders' angry stares.

"Good job, kid," Korjaq snorted. Noatak ignored him, hunching his shoulders and slouching.

_Great first impression._


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: okay, and now my buffer is officially dead. There's like one chapter in between this one and the one I'm working on. But I'm not complaining. Now I'll be more encouraged to work on it more, I guess. I've been lulled into this false sense of security. **

**So yes! Noatak is in the Northern Water Tribe, and he's very excited to meet _the _Master Katara. We'll just have to see how this plays out, yeah?**

* * *

Despite his mishap, Noatak couldn't help but relish his short time in the Northern Water Tribe. The place was aesthetically beautiful for one thing, the cool blues and whites painstakingly molded into layered buildings and graceful bridges. The fountains were brilliantly made, and Noatak wondered how they managed to get the water pumping through constantly. Surely they didn't have waterbenders running it day and night?

From what he could gather, Noatak discovered that the Northern Water Tribe was one of the few major cities left that had not begun using modern steam technologies. Noatak decided he preferred it that way. The city's clear dependence on waterbending made the environment strangely familiar, even though Noatak had never set foot in the place. It soothed him, knowing there were so many other were so widely accepted. Yakone always made it seem like…

Well, he made it seem like a crime to know waterbending.

It wasn't long before Noatak discovered where the Master Katara was teaching. Engraved into the surface of what looked to be one of the main buildings of the city was her likeness, the outlines sunken into the ice along with all of the information needed. Noatak raced to get closer to the advertisement, even though the symbols could be seen from anywhere in the city. He just needed to see her from as close as he could.

Apparently the building that had the advertisement was the royal palace announcing it's joy to welcome the Master Katara to the Northern Water Tribe as well as Avatar Aang. Noatak could tell, however, that the welcome extended towards Avatar Aang was more or less a formality. Master Katara was famous among even the most secluded of waterbenders, and having her anywhere to extend her teachings to the next generation was a huge honor.

Noatak's heart sank as he read the notes in the giant ad. Only students of Master Umiaq—and the best ones at that—could hope to be taught by the great Master, and only a handful of healer women would be allowed, as well (at Master Katara's insistence, no doubt). Crushed, Noatak scanned the rest of the advertisement for some ray of hope, but there didn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel.

But maybe he could just go _see _Master Katara? Just seeing her teach—just to see a master such as her waterbend at all!—would be enough for Noatak. He wanted to know what _real _waterbending should look like, not the waterbending Yakone had taught him.

Yes, he would just go watch. He wouldn't disturb anyone. Noatak would just take a look at the lesson, see what was going on, maybe pick up on a few things himself, but he wouldn't ask Master Katara to teach him personally. It would be fine, he figured, if he just took a small _peek_.

And with that thought, Noatak raced off to the training area Master Katara had picked: the vast stretches of thin ice just outside the Northern Water Tribe, surrounded by sea water from all sides except for the path connected to the mainland. Most people's first concern would've been falling straight through the sheet of ice.

But that was, Noatak supposed, why Master Katara had only asked for the best of the next generation of benders.

Noatak was panting by the time he had retraced his steps and navigated the maze of bridges and canals to the entrance of the city. He could tell that the lesson had already started. Even from a distance he could see a gray haired figure demonstrating a waterbending move. He could see the shimmering blue surface drifting through the air.

Not wasting time, Noatak rushed forward, stumbling over the uneven snow to reach the thin ice area and prepared to sit and watch from this spot when—

"Who are you?"

Noatak jumped, turning his head to stare at a very impressive looking man, his shoulders wide and his chest nearly bulging out of his parka.

"N-Noatak," Noatak squeaked, quailing under the sheer mass and height of this man. He was easily another foot taller than Noatak.

"Master Umiaq?" a cool voice called from the ice. "Who is this?" Noatak nervously tore his gaze away from the giant man—apparently Master Umaiq—to get a look at the new speaker.

It was Master Katara, calmly taking in the situation and the water hanging in the air. Noatak had interrupted the middle of a lesson. He felt himself flush.

"Just some peasant, I presume," Master Umiaq sniffed. "He's certainly not one of _my _students."

Noatak's face was positively burning, now. Master Umiaq clearly had no idea how close to the truth he really was. Noatak wondered how such a hulking mass was able to do anything as graceful as bending water. If it were anywhere else, Noatak would've pegged Umiaq as an earthbender.

"Is this true, boy? You're not one of Master Umiaq's students?" Master Katara asked. Noatak took in a huge breath and nodded once.

"But you're a waterbender?"

Another nod.

"Well, then," Master Katara said bracingly, "there's no reason for you to be turned away. Allow him to join in on the lesson, Master Umiaq."

"I—what? Master Katara, I'm not sure that—"

"He came here to learn, Master Umiaq," Master Katara said firmly. "I'm not about to turn away a willing student."

Defeated, Master Umiaq reluctantly allowed Noatak to step past. Sure that this was some sort of trick or dream of some kind, Noatak cautiously inched closer. Master Katara had to start beckoning to him to hurry up.

"What did you say your name was?"

"Noatak, sifu Katara."

"And where have you gotten in your training, Noatak?"

Noatak was at a loss. He had no idea that there was even an increment system in waterbending. Quickly, he wracked his brain for the last waterbending move Yakone had taught them. After years of doing solely bloodbending, Noatak discovered with increasing panic that he had learned only what could be considered the move basic waterbending moves. It was ironic—stupid—that Yakone had focused so much on the destructive, cursed subsection of waterbending instead of nurturing the basics first. Noatak couldn't help but feel that was a backwards approach to training. As he sat down at the end of the line of students glaring at him, Noatak mumbled, "Water whip."

There were low, dark chuckles from the other students around him, although he noticed that most of the females didn't laugh. Well, that was to be expected. They were restricted to healing in the Northern Water Tribe and didn't know a thing about offensive moves.

Noatak's answer seemed to be enough for Master Katara though, who nodded before returning to the water before her and continuing her lesson.

Master Katara seemed to be as youthful and full of energy as she must've been in the Hundred Year War. Her hair was beginning to gray, but it was still long and full, and her trademark hair loops were still pinned up. There were some wrinkles on her face and hands, but she seemed as capable as she ever would've been in her prime. Her movements were easy, smooth, and without jerks or halts one might expect from a woman that was approaching sixty years of age.

"This is what I like to call 'streaming the water'," she said. "As most of you know, it's used to get a 'feel' for the water. It's considered a basic move, but it's important to keep the basics with you at all times. Even the greatest waterbending master should remember his or her roots."

One of the boys a few people down the line snickered, and Noatak felt a flash of anger. How dare someone so blatantly disrespect one of the greatest waterbending masters of their time? Didn't he want to be here? But with a glance, Noatak could tell the boy couldn't care less.

If Master Katara noticed this boy, she didn't give any indication she had heard him laugh. Instead, she asked everyone to rise and try the move out. Noatak rose alongside a female waterbender, who was just about as good at waterbending as Tarrlok was when he started out. Her face was flushed with concentration and embarrassment as the other men of the group easily finished the task and promptly sat back down. The ice became slippery with the seawater beginning to settle on its surface.

Frustrated at their lack of conviction, Noatak took a deep breath and easily 'streamed the water', as Master Katara had called it, taking the water from the sea like the others had. He focused on the flows of the water at his fingertips, trying to get a 'feel' of it. Noatak was sure that he'd felt this feeling countless times before, and the sensation of the pulls and pushes of this water were all too familiar to him.

"Good work, Noatak," Master Katara said. "You're really getting the feel for it."

Noatak, basking under the glow of praise, promptly lost his control, the water splashing to the ground and wetting his shoes. There was a snicker down the line, and Noatak tried to control his shaking.

"Don't be upset," the female beside him whispered. "They're just jerks. You can do this a lot better than _I _can."

Noatak reluctantly glanced at her and nodded his thanks, watching her struggle to get any twitch from the ice at her feet. Her eyes were very much like Tarrlok's, Noatak realized, blue and pure and filled with determination.

This was a horrible time to get sentimental, but he gave in, anyway. Sighing a little, Noatak asked, "Would you like some help?"

"That would be great," the female smiled, her somewhat chubby cheeks rising a little. It was like he had just offered her a banquet after she'd been starving on the streets for months. Noatak wondered how many men actually offered to help a woman waterbend in this city.

"Okay, well, first off, you're not going to do anything with a stance like that," Noatak said. "You have to bend your knees. Plant yourself. To control an element, you have to _be _in your _own _element. Does that make sense?"

"It does, actually," the female laughed softly, taking Noatak's advice. She lowered herself and spread her legs apart, carefully mimicking Noatak's crouch.

"Okay, now relax your shoulders."

She did so.

"Okay, so now you have to just take a deep breath in and…" With a slow, cool exhale, Noatak dipped down before raising his hands to call the neighboring seawater to him. Blinking hard, the female did the same. Although the movement was jaunted and sluggish, the water finally came to her as well, and she smiled with relief and gratitude.

"Yeah, good job," Noatak said awkwardly. Compliments had never been his thing. The female didn't seem to mind though. She nodded her thanks.

"I'm Katsa," she introduced herself quietly as Master Katara began the next lesson and the pair of them sat down.

"Noatak," he replied, although he knew she probably already knew that.

"It's nice to meet you, Noatak."

"Likewise."

"Are we paying attention over there?" Master Katara called. Noatak ducked his head, but the master didn't pursue it.

"So now that you've gotten used to the water, let's start learning some moves, okay? Does anyone have a move they'd like to show off?"

Silence. No one seemed to be confident enough to step forward. Or, perhaps, they were all just too lazy. Noatak was banking on the latter with most of the males here, at least. He could understand why the girls might not, since they didn't specialize in this sort of style, but honestly, you'd think someone would be eager to make a good impression.

_What about you, then? _Noatak asked himself. Well, that was a stupid idea. The only impressive moves he knew all had to do with bloodbending, and he wasn't about to do something like that under the nose of the woman that spearheaded the anti-bloodbending law.

"Kuruk?" Master Katara prompted. "Would you like to try?"

Noatak's ears perked up at that name. Wasn't that the name of the most recent Water Tribe Avatar? It was some namesake, but in his personal opinion, Noatak didn't think _this_ Kurukdeserved it. He didn't bother stifling his grumbles as he stood up and stretched, shuffling forward with a general bad attitude. He was being taught his art of bending by the master! Why wasn't he more excited? He was given this gift and he wasn't even going to use it?

"Show us anything that you wish."

For a moment, Noatak thought that Kuruk was going to do nothing, but evidently his need to show off was more than his sloth. Kuruk turned and took aim at a nearby iceberg, taking a strong stance before shooting water with incredible force. The snow and ice on the iceberg shuddered and crumbled, falling into the sea.

"Very good!"Master Katara said, and Kuruk smirked, obviously pleased.

"Now, all I'd say about that is you need to connect more. You were very aggressive in your approach. Remember that waterbending turns the enemy's attacks into ours. Be more fluid and graceful. As a waterbender, you don't want to be caught off guard or off balance."

Kuruk was clearly not happy that anyone had dared criticize his work, and he stalked back to the other students with a sour face. Noatak seriously wondered what sort of upbringing these idiots had.

"This is a good reminder for everybody," Master Katara went on, sitting down herself. "You're lucky to be waterbenders. Waterbending is the most versatile of all the bending arts because it's so adaptable. As long as you keep an open mind, a skilled waterbender can get out of any problem, attack, or work his or her way through any defense—no matter their skill level." Was she looking at him when she said that? Or was the master addressing the females?

"Would anyone else like a try?"

Again, no response. Noatak was starting to feel ashamed. Was this really all the greatest waterbenders of their generation had to show?

"Um," he finally spoke up, his voice sounding strangely high and off pitch, "if I could…"

"Of course," Master Katara smiled warmly. "Come on up."

Nervously, Noatak rose from his seat. His entire body was shaking, and he seriously wondered if he would be able to bend the water with his hands so out of control. Grimacing, he approached Master Katara and raised his hands, getting into the ready stance.

_Focus._

This was just another practice session. Closing his eyes, Noatak imagined he was back on Korjaq's boat, his incessant yammering filling his ears. Push and pull. Stream the water. Breathe.

Noatak twisted his arms to demonstrate his best water whip, a thin line of water rising behind him before snapping forward, taking a chunk of the ice they were standing on with it before disappearing into the sea.

"Good," Master Katara nodded. "The only thing I was say is to loosen up a bit more. You're too stiff! Relax." She put a steady hand on his shoulder, making Noatak recognize tension he hadn't realized he had had before.

"Well, I think that's enough show-and-tell, unless someone else would like to…?"

Nothing.

"Well then, I think it's time for us to start learning new moves, right?" Master Katara grinned. "I'm sure this is what you were all waiting for. Noatak, would you stay up here, please?"

Surprised, Noatak did as she asked.

"Now, I think that the best way to demonstrate waterbending moves in action would be in a real battle, don't you think?"

Noatak felt his stomach swoop down before nearly coming up. He swallowed hard, trying to ignore the vicious grins on the other students' faces.

"So Noatak," Master Katara said, "I want you to come to me with everything you've got. Don't hold back, okay?"

Noatak seriously doubted that there would be any need for him to hold back against _the _Master Katara, but he appreciated her for saying so, anyway.

"Ready?"

_Never._ Noatak nodded.

"Here I come!"

* * *

**A/N: and if you can predict what the battle is going to be reminiscent of, then cookies for you. ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Oh God, guys, I'm sorry about my absence. I had a ton of stuff that came up in life that I won't bore you with, and suddenly my writing took a back seat. But I'm back now, and I appreciate your patience. Hopefully you don't hate me D:**

**I've double updated because I sucked.**

* * *

Master Katara didn't waste any time. She immediately drew water to create eight writhing water tentacles around her before whipping one at Noatak. Hissing in surprise, he sidestepped and instinctively flicked a hand, breaking the stream before it could wrap around and hit him. He steadied himself on the slippery ice, aware that he was losing precious time by lumbering around like a hippobear. Master Katara was taking it easy on him though. She patiently let him reorient himself before throwing another tentacle at him.

Naotak was ready for it. Learning from the last time, he didn't try and step to the side but instead overtook the stream and bended it around him, leaning back and sweeping his arms above his head before redirecting it at Master Katara.

Predictably, it didn't work. Master Katara recaptured control, but she didn't outright attack him, either. Still, Noatak felt himself slip a little. He had nearly fallen after trying to pull that back-bending trick. Blowing a stray hair out of his face, Noatak shifted into a more comfortable position before freezing his feet in place.

He thought he saw a spark of…_something _in Master Katara's eyes, but whatever it was disappeared as she merged two of her tentacles and created a larger rush of water.

Gritting his teeth and hoping his ice would hold, Noatak slammed his palms right into the oncoming torrent.

It was a mistake. He had underestimated how much force Master Katara was putting into the blast. The water stopped at his hands, yes, but Noatak didn't see the sting or the shuddering, bone clattering rattle climbing up his arms coming. If it weren't for his iced-down feet, he'd be flying into the water, right now.

Sneering, Noatak felt the familiar ferociousness that overtook him when he would bloodbend animals: the need to be in control. The hunger to overcome. He would come out on top. But thankfully, some inner part of him reminded himself that he couldn't afford to bloodbend here. Instead, Noatak depended on sheer instinct, using water as his medium instead of the human body.

Noatak threw his arms out to the side, his fingers splayed out and making two impressive columns of water rise on each side. A breath rushed in his gritted teeth before being released with one fast blow while he swung his arms forward, planning to slam Master Katara in between. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, his eyebrows creasing.

Master Katara did a similar move that Noatak had done, using the corresponding hand to stop the torrents in their tracks. For a moment time seemed to stand still, the two waterbenders staring at each other while droplets sprayed them and everyone around them. Noatak forgot there were people watching. Noatak forgot that he was just a boy and this was a master. Noatak forgot that he was to son of the notorious crime lord the woman before him had helped imprison. What Noatak did remember was this was a battle, and she was the enemy.

He snapped his right arm back, his shoulder screaming at the sudden jerk, and called a relatively small shot of water. It rushed towards his hand before flattening and freezing directly underneath it within the span of a fraction of a second before Noatak sent it spinning towards Master Katara. It was like it had never paused to freeze at all. Rather, his hand just happened to be a machine where at one end the element entered as a liquid and out the other came a solid. The process happened quickly, smoothly, and efficiently without a break.

Apparently she had not expected this. Her eyes widened minutely as she took a hand and shattered the ice discus with a few of her fingers. Not giving her a chance to get a move in, Noatak used his left hand to repeat the process, flinging another at her. Then his right with another. And another. The flat, completely smooth wafers were razor sharp and potentially deadly, flying through the air at an impressive speed. Still, Master Katara broke or evaded every single one.

Enough was enough, however. As soon as she avoided the next disc, Master Katara summoned the largest volume of water to be raised by the either of them, beginning to create a huge rushing ring around the two of them. As he watched, Noatak saw the wall coming towards him, and he released the ice around his feet to step forward. He could feel the furious speed that it was rotating at, could almost hear it screaming, and he was confident this was not something he wanted to be caught up in.

"Don't worry! I'm not going to hurt you," Master Katara assured him from the opposite side of the ice ring. Noatak swore he heard a note of amusement in her voice, but he didn't spare a thought for it. Instead, he considered his options. Break the stream? Sure. But she was probably expecting that. She was probably three moves ahead of him. What was Master Katara _not _expecting?

Abruptly, Noatak stopped in his tracks and circled his hands at the ground underneath him before slipping right through the ice, the wall of water passing harmlessly above him.

The water freezing—obviously. Still, that didn't stop the sudden rush of surprised bubbles escape Noatak's mouth. Before he became completely numb, Noatak swiftly motioned in the water. Thankfully, his gamble worked; the water separated to allow a small bubble, and Noatak stuck his mouth and nose into it to get a fresh breath before expanding it, desperately working his hands before Master Katara decided to flush him out.

Eventually, Noatak was able to encircle himself in an air bubble. He allowed himself to rise until his head bumped into the bottom of the ice layer. From what he could tell, Master Katara seemed to have released her hold on the water ring. Noatak slid himself forward, using one hand to keep the water at bay while using the other to coax his body forward. It was hard, bitter work. He probably should've planned this better.

Finally, he reached the opposite side of the ice sheet, where Master Katara was standing. She was moving from side to side, her feet constantly shifting. No doubt she expected Noatak to pop out at any moment. Well, she wasn't wrong. With a surge of energy, Noatak spun in the water, using his bubble to sort of facilitate the space between his spinning column. He propelled himself out, although he only just barely was able to manage. He only made it about a foot in the air before the cyclone gave away. Master Katara, thankfully, was a quick thinker. She made a stream of water rise to meet Noatak midair, submerging him before he hit the sea.

Coughing, Noatak pulled himself out, his ponytail completely undone and his hair sticking to the sides of his face. His clothes were soaked, and he had just lost. While he knew that he shouldn't feel humiliated by losing to a master, it still stung. He was sure the other students would've been able to do better.

But when he was able to rub the water and salt from his eyes, he noticed that all of them were staring at him in awe. Confused, he glanced at Master Katara, who looked equally impressed.

"And where in the world did you come from, Noatak?"


	7. Chapter 7

"And as Noatak clearly demonstrated," Master Katara was saying, "you do not have to be a master to take on a master. Sometimes instinct and quick thinking are more powerful than sheer experience and knowledge. Very nice work, again, Noatak."

Noatak nodded his thanks, feeling like some heronpenguin, bobbing his head over and over into the ice to pick out some fish to eat. Master Katara was complimenting him! Distantly, he could feel Katsa's warm, glowing admiration and Kuruk's vehement glare. Not that Noatak cared.

"There are multiple forms of waterbending, as I'm sure you all know," Master Katara said. "I happen to have a little experience in all the ones that are to my knowledge"—she was just being modest, Noatak knew. Translation: I've mastered all subsets but I don't want to toot my own horn—"so if there are any questions you'd like to ask, I'm here."

Immediately, a delicate hand from one of the healers shot up, and Mater Katara nodded at her. She asked something about a particular chi flowing technique, and Noatak tuned out the conversation. He didn't like hearing about discussions of healing. It only reminded him that his waterbending was parasitic in nature. Harmful. Used others to his advantage.

Noatak allowed his mind to wander, carefully directing his train of thought away from Tarrlok and Yakone. He wondered if he would get to see the Avatar. He and Master Katara were always everywhere together, after all. Noatak would probably die out of awe. To be in the presence of the Avatar…

The same Avatar that had taken away Yakone's bending—and probably forced him to the North Pole, where he had Noatak and Tarrlok. Noatak's thoughts took a sudden, darker turn. Before him was the woman that outlawed bloodbending, and perhaps just a few blocks away slept the man that was the object of Yakone's obsessive, vengeful behavior. Because of the Avatar, Noatak and Tarrlok nearly broke their spines bending over backwards to please Yakone. Because of the Avatar, Tarrlok spent countless nights staying awake, crying because of all the nightmares he got. Because of the Avatar, Yakone forced Noatak to do things to animals—to his own brother—and deluded him into thinking that it was somehow a blessing.

Noatak could go right now, find the Avatar, and—

"Bloodbending," someone said, and Noatak nearly jumped out of his skin. He refocused on the group discussion, finding who asked the question. Noatak's face visibly shadowed.

"It's possible, right?" Kuruk drew out.

"That's right," Master Katara inclined her head. "It's been outlawed though."

"Why's that? It's just another form of waterbending, right?"

_'Just another form'? _Noatak raged, flaring his nostrils. Did this guy know _anything _about what he was talking about? He had half a mind to go over there and punch Kuruk for his insensitivity.

Thankfully, Master Katara took a more sensible approach. "Bloodbending _is _a form of waterbending, but that's where its similarities with other styles stop. Bloodbending wrenches away the will of the subject and puts them directly into the user's hands. They have no way to fight back or defend themselves. It's a lowly, dirty, unjustifiable and unforgivable form of bending"—Noatak flinched ever so slightly—"and it's not safe to allow anyone to have this skill and get away with it. Many people have used it for evil deeds in the past."

"Like who?" another boy asked, his voice coming out in a whisper. It was like he was listening to some interesting story.

"Hama of the Southern Water Tribe, for instance," Master Katara suggested. "You're all much too young to know her. She was an old woman when I was a teenager during the Hundred Year War. She would bloodbend villagers into a cave every full moon, leaving them there to starve."

Silence. The air was filled with tension as well as excitement. Noatak felt his anger begin to peak as he realized these students were treating bloodbending like some horror story created for unruly children.

"But _you're _a bloodbender, aren't you…_Master_?" Kuruk piped up again. The sneer in his voice was unmistakable. The condescension and arrogance of these students were unbelievable! Noatak, as far as he could tell, might've been the youngest out of all of them at fourteen, but without a doubt he was the most mature of them all. Clearly none of them had known real hardship. They had just been born with a silver spoon in their mouth, raised in the lap of luxury to be petted and spoiled.

"I do know how to bloodbend, yes," Master Katara affirmed. Noatak admired her for not lying about herself, even though everyone knew that she was a bloodbender, anyway. But there was something refreshing to see someone bluntly and plainly state some ugly part of themselves.

"But just because it's me that's a bloodbender doesn't mean that I'm completely innocent, too."

Noatak's eyes widened, surprised that Master Katara might've felt the same things he was going through—and surprised that she would admit it to a line of teenagers.

"We have all made mistakes," Master Katara said, "but what's really important is what we do to fix them. Over history, it's been shown again and again that no bloodbender—including me—should be trusted, and that's why the anti-bloodbending law was introduced."

"But that didn't stop other bloodbenders from coming up, did it?" Noatak murmured softly. Master Katara glanced his way, a distinct frown on her face.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what's to stop bloodbenders from using their bloodbending, even with a law?" Noatak asked evasively. What he really wanted to point out was Yakone because some part of him craved for an answer, a reason, behind the pain and sorrow he was forced to sit through each and every day under his watchful eye. Noatak was sure that Master Katara, who so far was the one person that he seemed to relate to the most with in his life, would have an answer—any answer—to his questions. But there was a limit to how many risks one should take in one day.

Master Katara didn't seem to believe that Noatak's question was the one he really wanted to ask. It was that knowing look in her eye. Noatak panicked, wondering if he had given too much away and if he should make a break for it right now, when Kuruk said, "What about the mafia guy? Yakone?"

Noatak's breath caught. He watched Master Katara for any traitorous movements, any twitch that would signal what she thought of Yakone. But he didn't need to look for the subtle indications after all. Master Katara was blunt enough that she just went out and said what was on her mind.

"Yakone was a notorious thief and criminal," Master Katara said gravely. "No, of course a law won't _force _people to stop bloodbending. But it's better than letting people do what they want. Yakone was one of many bloodbenders that tried to prove how much better they were from others, and that was their downfall. Yakone was cruel and hateful and evil, but without the law, we might never have had the opportunity to bring him down." Master Katara's look became hard. "Make no mistake: no matter how hard and how desperately they try to hide it, a bloodbender's secret always comes out in the end. And the people on the side of good will bring them to justice."

Noatak thought he was going to be sick.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: YAAAAAY WE MEET THE REST OF THE FAMILY.**

* * *

"Noatak."

"Sifu Katara?" Noatak turned around to glance at her, unwilling to meet her eyes. What would she say, how would she look at him, if she knew he was a bloodbender?

"Sorry for being tough on you in the battle," Master Katara apologized. Noatak paused while the other students disappeared off towards the city, the hulking mass of Master Umiaq following after them.

"It's no problem," Noatak said flatly, eager to get the conversation over with so he could leave.

"You just reminded me of someone," Master Katara grinned. "It was just like a battle I had with my old master."

Noatak was seriously tempted to ask for details, but his self-preservation instinct told him to stay quiet and get away from Master Katara as soon as she could.

Seeing that Noatak wasn't biting, Master Katara's grin softened to more of a motherly smile. "Noatak, do you have anywhere to sleep tonight?"

Noatak paused. Should he say he didn't? True as it was, he was unwilling to spend the night with Master Katara and the Avatar. His hesitation, however, seemed answer enough. Master Katara took him by the shoulder and started steering him towards the city.

"That's what I thought," Master Katara said. "I could tell you weren't from around here."

_Well, you're not wrong,_ Noatak thought. He reluctantly allowed Master Katara to guide him to the home she was staying in: a voluminous, bombastic, and byzantine home that was made of white-blue ice. The curves of the multiple roofs layered one on top of the other with each floor were twisted with elegance and finesse. On almost every visible surface, Noatak could spot markings of the water tribe, ranging from three rippling lines to intricate, breathtakingly inspiring depictions of Avatar Aang. Clearly, this home had been made for him, in particular. No one could ever say that the Northern Water Tribe was unwelcoming, at least.

Inside the home—or more like castle, really—were many furs stacked up on one another along the wall, a long hallway branching off into different rooms. Noatak was surprised that there was so much room for only two people, even if it was the Avatar and Master Katara. Hung up were crossed spears, some of the water tribe's best shields, painted furs of legends mostly about Tui and La, depictions of intricate waterbending moves, and almost everything else in between. How much decoration could one home need?

"Katara?" a low voice called from deep inside the home. "Is that you?"

Without waiting for an answer, Avatar Aang dropped straight down from the ceiling with a chilling blast of wind, buffeting Noatak, although Master Katara seemed to be used to it.

"Welcome home," Avatar Aang smiled, not seeming to notice Noatak's presence for the moment as he swept up Master Katara in a firm hug. She returned it, a smile breaking out over her face. It was painfully clear they were very much in love, even after all these years.

So these were the two that sentenced Yakone to death, huh?

Noatak uncomfortably hung back at the side, trying not to stare. His gaze roamed around the hall, scuffing the fur-covered floor with his boot, feeling very out of place. At last, the two separated after exchanging a few murmured words, and Avatar Aang finally turned to Noatak and grinned as if greeting an old friend. "Who's this?"

"N-Noatak, Mister Avatar, sir!" Noatak burst out breathlessly, caught off guard by Avatar Aang's casual air and stupidly stuttering on his own words. Face burning, Noatak put a palm along his fist and bowed low, nearly falling forward as he lost his balance. As it was, Noatak let out a yelp similar to a beardog cub before being caught by the back of his shirt by Avatar Aang, himself.

Scrambling up to his feet, Noatak both thanked and apologized profusely to the Avatar to the point where neither of them could really tell what Noatak was saying anymore. Finally, Avatar Aang put up a hand and smiled sheepishly, saying, "Calm down. It's fine."

Avatar Aang looked almost as embarrassed as Noatak was. He abruptly stopped talking and snapped his mouth shut, swallowing hard and glaring at his boots. How stupid could he get?

"This is Noatak," Katara finally intervened. "He doesn't have any place to sleep tonight, so I thought he could stay with us for a while."

"Really?" Avatar Aang said. Noatak could hear the curiosity behind the question—why was Noatak alone? Where was he from? What was he doing here?—but the Avatar didn't ask a single one. Instead, he asked, "How did you meet him?"

"He came to my waterbending lesson, today," Katara replied. "He's very talented."

_Talented? _Noatak mentally repeated. A rush of pleasure and pride surged through him. Master Katara thought he was _talented._

"That's high praise coming from you, Katara," Avatar Aang said, the smile clearly heard in his voice.

"That's because it's true, Aang."

"Well, I don't see why you can't stay," Avatar Aang told Noatak, prompting him to raise his head. "If Katara trusts you, then I don't see why I shouldn't."

Noatak felt an odd wrench of his heart. Would they feel this way if they knew of his birthright?

They didn't give him much time to think about it. Immediately, Noatak was whisked off towards the kitchens and dining area. Of course, there were separate chefs to cook the meals that were provided by the Northern Water Tribe, and they seemed to be extremely gratified to have even stepped foot in this abode. Well, that made sense. Imagine cooking for the Avatar and the greatest waterbender of their time.

As soon as they sat down at the table, a shouting resounded from somewhere in the deep recesses of the home. The sound quickly rose as it approached, pattering feet accompanying it. Noatak just barely jumped off of his shell-decorated seat before it crashed to the side, a pair of young adults merrily wrestling each other on the ground as a third trailed after, massaging his face with clear exasperation. Avatar Aang and Katara treated this as if it were no strange occurrence, inviting Noatak to sit and eat this or that and casually ignoring the good-natured shouts below.

Finally, with a splutter, the gray-haired woman ended up on top, pinning down the scraggly-bearded man below her. With a huff, he pushed her off, saying, "Alright, alright, you win the last seaweed tuna roll. Spirits, you could've just asked." The broad grin on his face, however, betrayed his reproachful tone. The woman didn't seem to hear, instead pumping the air with her fists and disappearing in the direction of the kitchen as the third man approached with a deep sigh.

"Mother," he nodded gravely. "Father."

"Good afternoon, Tenzin," Master Katara smiled in greeting before returning to her soup. Avatar Aang was more conversational, asking what his son had been up to, today.

So these were the famous children of the Avatar. They were definitely not what Noatak had…_expected. _Well, maybe the third one, Tenzin, was a bit closer to what he had thought the children of such distinguished parent would be: proper, erect, polite, level headed and serious. But the other two…Maybe they were the younger siblings, and Tenzin was the older brother that had to watch them all the time? Even though they all looked well into their twenties, at least?

"Who's this?" Tenzin asked, turning to Noatak, who jumped and felt himself shrink a little under Tenzin's inquiring look. It wasn't unfriendly, however, just politely curious.

"Noatak," Noatak gulped.

"He's staying us for a little while, Tenzin," Master Katara explained. "He was at my waterbending lesson today and doesn't have a place to stay."

"At your lesson?"

"That's right. He did very well in our fight, too. Would've beaten me, if he was more experienced. Now I know how Pakku felt!"

"You fought him?" Tenzin clarified, apparently surprised. "Mother, why would you ever try and fight a student?"

"Forget that!" someone shouted behind them. Noatak flinched again as he felt a rough hand descend on his head and ruffle his hair, the ponytails coming out of their ties.

"You're saying this pipsqueak actually gave you trouble?" the man that was fighting on the ground guffawed. "Have you been slacking, mom?"

"Trust me, Bumi," Master Katara chuckled with him, "I was trying much harder than I should've!"

The pair of them burst into uproarious laughter, the man named Bumi practically caterwauling while giving Noatak a friendly—and painful—punch in the arm.

"You're a good kid!" he announced. "I like you!"

"Uh," Noatak grinned nervously, "thanks?"

Apparently this was the most hilarious thing Bumi had ever heard. He dissolved into tears, sinking past the table and collapsing onto the floor while Tenzin watched almost shamefully, shaking his head again.

"What's all the commotion?" the gray-haired woman finally returned, her cheeks round—undoubtedly with the infamous seaweed tuna roll.

"Kya!" Bumi exclaimed. Without warning, he shot up and looped his arms under Noatak's and lifted him up and presented him to Kya. Noatak, too surprised to squirm, looked about as stunned as Kya's tuna was when it was caught. Kya raised an eyebrow.

"This kid actually fought mom and lived to tell the tale!"

"No way!" Kya shrieked, voice muffled by the food. She approached Noatak and squeezed his cheeks without asking permission. "This little kid?"

Noatak wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to take that, but getting angry seemed like a good option. Without meaning to, he burst out, "I'm not a kid!"

Except it wasn't as powerful a message as he thought it'd be, considering his face was smashed together by Kya's fingers. In fact, it just made the pair of them laugh even harder, and Noatak could feel himself heating up with embarrassment and humiliation. Was he really that childish looking? He was already fourteen. He couldn't look _that _much like a kid.

Finally, Master Katara coaxed Kya and Bumi to let Noatak down and have mercy on him (which they did) and he sat at the table with a pronounced frown creased on his forehead. Kya and Bumi chortled a little more but didn't bother him further, instead digging in. Tenzin took a seat directly next to Noatak while Bumi took his other side, leaving Kya to sit next to her scraggly-bearded brother at the end. Across from the four of them were Master Katara and Avatar Aang.

There were only the sounds of clinking dishes and utensils as people commented on how great the cooks were here. Noatak had to admit, this sharkeel soup was better than his own mother's. Tarrlok would've liked this. This was his favorite di—

Abruptly, Noatak replaced the bowl on the table with perhaps a bit too much force, and everyone glanced at him inquiringly. For probably the fifth time today, Noatak blushed and muttered that it was nothing. Shrugging, the table returned to their meals. Noatak had suddenly lost his appetite, guilt beginning to claw at his stomach. Here he was enjoying all of this delicious food, and Tarrlok was probably stuck at home feeling the full force of Yakone's wrath with no one to protect him, and he'd basically be stuck there, since Tarrlok always felt like he'd have to protect mother—

_That's why he's weak,_ Noatak snapped. _That's why you didn't bring him along. Remember?_

Yes, he remembered. Naotak quietly laid down his spoon with painful precision onto the table and forlornly stared at his plate, the people around him alive with activity. There were arguments over the last piece of chickenpheasant, laughter over the latest escapade, scolding, and warmth. It brought Noatak back to when he was a boy, before he knew how to waterbend, before he knew who Yakone really was.

He noticed with frustration that he missed those days.

Well, could he really blame himself? After all, they were still a family back then. Nothing seemed more dangerous and dire than a stray wolf coming into the village, and the best feeling ever was having father lift them up and let them fly through the air like airbenders on gliders. The one thing that was looked forward to was mother's cooking, and the most dreaded was cold baths in melted ice water. It was all so much simpler then, without bending.

_Stop being stupid, _Noatak ordered himself. _You can't go back now._

With a deep sigh, Noatak straightened up and noticed with a leap of horror that Avatar Aang was staring straight at him.

For a terrifying moment, Noatak thought the Avatar had deduced Noatak's true identity. There was something in the Avatar's gray eyes that seemed to display insight, infinite knowledge, experience, and a strange Spiritual, cosmic glow. What hope could Noatak possibly have, hiding something from the Avatar himself? Perhaps he should just admit it now, while he was still in a public area, instead of Avatar Aang cornering him in an empty hall. Better yet, he should just excuse himself and get going. Get out of here—

And just as fast as the moment lasted, Avatar Aang returned to his meal just as quickly, casually picking up some prunes and gracefully placing them on his plate. Noatak felt himself breathe again.

"So Noatak," Avatar Aang finally prompted him at the end of dinner. Noatak quailed, even though the Avatar was doing nothing threatening, instead coolly cleaning his mouth with a napkin before continuing, "how long are you planning on staying with us?"

"How—how long?" Noatak repeated. This was not the question he was expecting.

"Yes. Are you going to be attending all of Katara's classes this week?"

"I—" Noatak frowned, seriously considering it. He really figured that he shouldn't stay in one place for that long, and he was pushing his luck as it was, spending the night at the house of the Avatar and Master Katara.

"Of course he is," Katara said briskly. "Right?"

"Uh…"

The table stopped and glanced at him to assess his expression. Noatak was truly torn. This opportunity, this luck he was having…he was eager to take advantage of it, but at the same time he could practically feel Yakone's heavy breathing on the back of his neck. Noatak felt the small hairs all over his arms raise a little.

Avatar Aang seemed to note his discomfort, as did Master Katara, although if the three children sensed anything, they didn't give any indication that they did. The husband and wife seemed to exchange a flash of communication, even though they didn't look or touch each other, and Aang suggested helpfully, "It's quite late, anyway. All of the ships going anywhere would be closed done by now. At least stay tonight."

"Unless you can afford one of the hotels here?" Master Katara asked pointedly. Avatar Aang's lips thinned a little, but he didn't comment on her not-so-subtle jab. Noatak felt himself shrink a little but didn't back down, instead nodding politely at Avatar Aang and Master Katara.

"Thank you for your hospitality. If it is no trouble, I would be grateful to stay here for the night."

"It's no trouble," Avatar Aang assured him as the table went back to eating. Bumi and Kya went back to their bickering. Noatak forced himself to answer the last few technicalities Avatar Aang presented—would this room be alright, would he need to be woken up, how long would he be staying—before the Avatar excused himself, his salad hardly touched. Master Katara glanced after him but didn't speak up. But Noatak didn't miss the flicker of concern and…grief pass through her eyes. Noatak followed her gaze at Avatar Aang's back as he turned the corner and disappeared into the deep blue hall.

When Noatak looked back, Master Katara was still staring after her husband. But to his surprise, Tenzin was watching Noatak intently. Before Noatak could get a word in, however, Tenzin returned to his tofu and potatoes and murmured, "Welcome to the family," before excusing himself as well. None of the table took much note except for a quiet "good night" from Master Katara.

What had Noatak gotten into?


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Oh, good, I'm actually giving you something that has to vaguely do with the plot. It only took me 10 000 words. Sorry about that, but hey! At least you can see some allusions to the current Amon, right? **

**Hopefully?**

* * *

The next few days passed by in a blur.

Noatak couldn't believe it for the first morning. He was woken by Tenzin, the day welcomed by a solemn faced, blank expression bidding him to come downstairs, and disappearing with a burst of airbending. Noatak got up, ate breakfast, and padded after Master Katara after they had prepared, feeling his face burn and hanging his head as the other students bored holes into his clothes.

The lessons were illuminating, unlocking revelations and tricks that had never occurred to Noatak. For him, there seemed to be some sort of door that was opening somewhere in his body, a pure _understanding_ coursing through him with every stroke of his hands. He had never felt so connected and in tune with water in his entire life, although (he realized bitterly) the feeling was similar to the sensations when he bloodbended.

It was only after the few days that Noatak realized that leaving prematurely was a stupid, optimistic idea in the first place. He would've never been able to leave this place, this grand city, the family of the Avatar and the greatest waterbending master to have lived earlier than he would have to. He felt more at home here than he ever had in any other place on this earth, which ignited conflicting feelings of guilt, rage, and happiness.

Eventually, when it was the middle of the week and this had been happening for some time, Avatar Aang asked Master Katara to let Noatak stay at their home for the day, not accompany her.

Noatak was about to indignantly say, "WHAT?", but he held his tongue. He expected Master Katara would undoubtedly say that Noatak should go to the waterbending training, and it was no time to fool around and stay home, but instead she just nodded and said, "If you want." Noatak couldn't help feeling almost dismissed and unneeded, like a rag doll. Master Katara patted his shoulder and told him, "Don't worry. I'll tell the other students that you're being taught by Aang today, and they'll understand."

Master Katara clearly didn't understand that saying such a thing would only make his relationships worse with the other students except maybe with Katsa (but she was never really bothered by anything), and it wasn't really his primary concern in the first place. But he didn't know how to politely phrase it, so he helplessly looked after Master Katara as she headed out to the training area.

"Why did you ask me to stay today, Avatar Aang?" Noatak asked glumly and none too humbly. The nomad didn't immediately reply, only stared out after his wife. Eventually, however, when the sun was higher in the sky and Noatak thought fireants had crawled up his legs, Avatar Aang said, "I've noticed that you seem to be going through some inner turmoils, Noatak."

Noatak froze, his blood freezing over under his parka and his fingers closing into fists. Already he was formulating a plans of escape, gathering the snow inch by inch underneath his feet and knowing that there was no way he was going to out bend the _Avatar_...

"Relax," Avatar Aang continued, glancing down at him. "I won't ask what this turmoil is. It's none of my business." Noatak raised a suspicious eyebrow. It _seemed_ like Avatar Aang was telling the truth-for now, at least. Noatak relaxed a little as he glared accusingly into Avatar Aang's gray eyes.

"When I was your age-younger, even," Avatar Aang said, "I went through some hard times, too."

"The Hundred Year War," Noatak grunted.

"Well," Avatar Aang shrugged, "that's true, but that wasn't really the turmoil that I meant." Noatak stared in confusion. What other turmoil could the Avatar possibly be talking about?

"I couldn't choose back then," the Avatar sighed heavily, "whether to be the Avatar...or just an ordinary boy. Because either way, I would be letting someone down."

_Someone I'm letting down..._ Noatak thought to himself. Immediately, Tarrlok's smiling face bloomed in his mind. The guilt came over him along with the image, so Noatak forced it back down.

"How did you overcome it?" Noatak asked thickly into his collar.

"I met a guru," Avatar Aang chuckled a little, "who had no hair on his head but much on his face and ate nothing but onion and banana juice."

Noatak involuntarily made a face at that. Avatar Aang didn't miss it. He laughed, "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you eat onion and banana juice." Avatar Aang knelt to consider Noatak with a solemn look. "I am, however, going to help you push through the demons in your soul."

"You are?"

"Don't tell my children though," Avatar Aang made him promise with a grin. "I promised I'd show them this trick when they were older, so if they find out you're doing it then they'll throw a fit."

"Why _am_ I doing this?" Noatak couldn't help asking before biting his own tongue.

"Don't feel guilty about asking questions, Noatak," Avatar Aang told him. "It's always important to ask questions, because that means you want to understand things, not just accept them." The Avatar put a hand on Noatak's shoulder. "You're a smart boy.

"And as to why I'm teaching you this and not my children first: my children don't need to learn how to overcome turmoil. Oh sure, they have their own problems as any person would, but they have not reached the point in their lives where they must make a choice-a hard choice-and I hope that they will never have to make that choice. But I also know that's inevitable, and I hope I'll be there to help them." Avatar Aang placed his second hand on Noatak's remaining shoulder and gripped him earnestly, staring and imploring the boy to understand. "But Noatak, _you_ need this. _You _need to learn this. Because I can sense in you the weight of hard choices you've had to make as a child. Because you've already reached the point in your life where you were forced to choose." For a moment, Avatar Aang's eyes softened as he finished, "Perhaps that's why the Spirits sent you here: to learn from me how to overcome your turmoil."

"How do I do it?" Noatak asked breathlessly, anxious, eager, and invigorated by Avatar Aang's speech and hearing the truth in the words. If he could just be rid of this guilt, of his shame, then maybe...

"They're called 'chakras'," Avatar Aang began, "and they are our centers of spiritual energy."

* * *

Noatak struggled to keep up.

There was the Earth Chakra, the Water Chakra, the Fire and Air Chakras, and those, at least, were predictable to Noatak. They were the four basic elements that he had always grown up knowing, and memorizing them was not a difficult task. But it was as if he was learning a completely new technique of bending. Noatak sat in a tense meditative pose, his brow creased as he internally grappled with the "block", as Avatar Aang had described it, in his chakra points in his body. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be feeling the first time, and so far, the Earth Chakra had taken the longest to unlock. But when he did, Noatak felt something, some rush of new life and the will to live and see the world for what joys it held...and at the same time felt his fear melt away, felt the terror of Yakone's grip slip from his shoulders like dead skin. And it went like this for a while. Noatak re-lived his crushing guilt from his childhood days when he wished Tarrlok would never be a waterbender, and remembered the swooping feelings in his stomach when he informed their unsuspecting mother of how wonderful their hunt was under the watchful eye of Yakone. The shame came then, and Noatak remembered the first time he ever bloodbended a living thing, but that wasn't what he was ashamed of. What he was ashamed of, he now knew, was the fact that he _liked_ it. And the grief, as well, nearly made him stop right then and there as he broke down into tears as the memory of his lively, smiling mother degenerated into a gray husk of life as time went on. His mother became more anxious, more suspicious with every passing full moon, until Yakone one day just _snapped_. And for the first time, Noatak allowed himself to grieve over his mother and Tarrlok and the warm life he left behind.

Then they reached the Sound Chakra, the fifth chakra. When he reached it, Noatak felt himself unable to breathe, words becoming choked off in his throat as Avatar Aang quietly told him that the Sound Chakra was blocked by lies. Noatak knew he had said more than his fair share of lies. Lies to his mother about what he and his brother and father were doing all those full moons. Lies to his brother when he said that Noatak really did want him to be a waterbender. Lies to Yakone when Noatak assured him he loved him. Lies to Tenzin and Bumi and Kya and Master Katara and Avatar Aang.

"Come to terms with your lies," Avatar Aang advised him coolly. "Do not run away from who you are."

But that was exactly why Noatak had come here! Because he had run away! Was he supposed to simply _accept_ the fact that he was the son of the crime lord that had taken countless lives, that he was a bloodbender and actually took some sort of twisted, vicious pleasure when he controlled others and that he himself was scared that he enjoyed it? Was he supposed to _accept_ that he is not _just_ a simple, peasant waterbender from some village off in the west where his mother was waiting and his father had just brought back a few leopardseals and his brother innocently played in the snow? Was Noatak simply denied those things?

"They are part of your nature," Avatar Aang said. Noatak wondered for the hundredth time if Avatar Aang was reading his thoughts, but nothing seemed to indicate as such.

"Do not deny what is part of you."

Part of him. Noatak forced himself into a more relaxed position and tried to breath through his clogged throat and sweat. Avatar Aang was right. No matter how much he might _loathe_ it, Yakone and his life in his home village were part of Noatak's identity, and there was no changing it. Better he come to terms with it here and now so that he might be able to _do_ something about it, to _grow _and _develop_ from it, and make sure that no one would ever have to go something like that again. So Noatak embraced the painful memories, unlocked the boxes that had been so tightly shut for years now, and forced himself through every moment.

_Never forget._

"Very good," Avatar Aang complimented him.

With a deep sigh, Noatak stretched his back, stiff from sitting so long. "Will we continued tomorrow, Avatar Aang?" It was sunset, the sun beginning to sink into the horizon and dyeing everything red. Noatak never liked the sun during the sunset. It and its rays always made everything look like it was bleeding.

Avatar Aang shook his head. "We can't stop once we've started. You're already more than halfway through your chakras in just the morning and afternoon. That's very good. Katara told me you were a genius waterbender, but you really are talented, Noatak."

"Master Katara said I was a genius?" Noatak asked, so ridiculously pleased that he forgot to thank Avatar Aang for his compliment.

"Yes," Avatar Aang chuckled, but the moment did not last long. Quickly, the pair of them moved onto the second to last chakra: the Light Chakra.

"The Light Chakra," Avatar Aang informed Noatak, "is at the forehead, and is associated with insight. It is blocked by illusion."

Illusions. What illusions had Noatak experienced in his life? The illusions of family? Of love?

"The Guru told me," Avatar Aang interrupted Noatak's thoughts, "that the greatest illusion is the illusion of separation."

"Separation?" Noatak repeated in wonder.

"It is the illusion that we-like you and I, or a waterbender and a firebender, or an earthbender and an airbender-are different. We are all equal. One and the same."

"We're all people," Noatak translated into his own words.

"Exactly. The Guru also told me that the four elements as well are an illusion. Aren't they all part of the same earth, after all?"

And Noatak understood that maybe he wasn't such a horrible person after all, if he was the same as the great man sitting next to him or the master waterbender who must've been finishing up her lessons at the training area right that moment.

The two of them took a moment to gather themselves, nibbling on a few dried fruits and drinking bowls of cool water. As per his promise, the Avatar didn't make Noatak drink any onion and banana juice, although the Avatar did drink it himself. Even after all the years, he did not cringe once when he swallowed the muck.

At nightfall, the pair of them resumed their meditation.

"This is the last of the chakras," the Avatar assured Noatak. "You've made it very far in a very short time, Noatak. I congratulate you. Are you ready?"

"Yes," Noatak whispered, afraid to shatter the cool silence of the night.

"The Thought Chakra is associated with pure cosmic energy," Avatar Aang said. "I would tell you what that means, but I only know what it means for me: the power to go in and out of the Avatar State at will. I'm not sure what will happen if you unlock it, but it will be beneficial. I'm sorry I can't tell you more than that."

"I understand," Noatak said apprehensively.

"The Thought Chakra is at the crown of the head and is blocked by all earthly attachments. Tell me, Noatak, what things keep you tethered to this world?"

_Yakone_ was Noatak's first thought. Then _Tarrlok, my mother, waterbending, bloodbending, shame, guilt, lies, pain..._

But Noatak remembered that he had overcome many of these things through the last six chakras. He was not going to close them all up now. So he dismissed those and moved on to the others.

"Let them all go," Avatar Aang encouraged Noatak.

"Let them go?" Noatak repeated with a small breath. Yakone...Noatak had no problem letting go of Yakone, and bloodbending wasn't a problem either, and if Noatak had to really think about it, he had to admit his mother wasn't a strong attachment, anyway. But waterbending...

Waterbending was the only thing that made Noatak happy.

No, that wasn't true. Tarrlok made Noatak happy. Noatak remembered the day when he first showed Tarrlok his waterbending, of the day when Yakone discovered them.

Tarrlok would've made Noatak happier if waterbending wasn't in his life. So Noatak rejected waterbending, as well.

But Tarrlok...let go of his little brother? Deny him? Renounce him from Noatak's life?

"This is the hardest chakra to open," Avatar Aang told Noatak, "but without opening this chakra, all others will remain blocked as well."

Noatak tried. Sincerely, he did. He attempted to cut off the ties Tarrlok had in his heart, to unchain himself from his little brother, but no matter what he did, whenever Tarrlok's smiling face looked at him, Noatak couldn't help but feel his heart rent into pieces. He gave his brother so much hardship and pain, had bloodbended him and lied to him, and had done nothing to save him from Yakone...

"I can't do it," Noatak announced abruptly, snapping up from his sitting position. Avatar Aang shifted a little.

"Noatak," Avatar Aang said soothingly, "I know what you're going through. Trust me. I had to do this too, and the Thought Chakra was my greatest challenge, as well. But-"

"I _won't_ do it," Noatak said decisively, baring his teeth. If he let Tarrlok go-if he let his little brother go-then it would be like saying he was completely free of his crimes, as if he'd done nothing against Tarrlok. But that was untrue. And some part of Noatak knew that he couldn't go unpunished for being the worst elder brother in the history of elder brothers.

"I'm done," Noatak growled, "I'm going inside." Without bowing, without saying a goodbye, without seeing if Avatar Aang would give him permission, Noatak spun on his heel and departed back into the house, where the table was set and everyone was patiently waiting, chatting amicably about their day. They looked up when they saw him, the Avatar's family, but Noatak ignored them completely, retreating to his room and collapsing on the bed. Below, he heard Avatar Aang's voice tell his family something before the sounds of eating were heard.

And slowly, one by one, the seals on Noatak's chakras began to close anew...


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Everyone, I'm so sorry I disappeared for a full month. A lot of things are happening right now in my life, and to top it all off, I did NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) during November too, so as you can surmise, I was quite busy. I apologize for not letting you know about what was going on. Hopefully I'll be able to update regularly for the next few weeks, and I'll let you know if something else comes up to the best of my abilities.**

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Noatak made a point of avoiding Avatar Aang wherever he went, now. Whenever he spotted the Avatar in the halls, Noatak would abruptly stop and turn in the other direction. Avatar Aang made no moves to try and stop him or try and explain himself after the first five times this happened, although at first his pestering was incredibly irksome. Noatak wished the Avatar would just give up on him once and for all. Noatak didn't want to let go of all his earthly attachments. He didn't want to let go of Tarrlok. His baby brother was about the only thing that made him human.

Despite his complete catastrophe in the area of chakras, however, Noatak was still excelling in the waterbending classes. But while Master Katara didn't say anything against him or tried to pressure him in any way, he stoutly held his tongue and refused to participate in the discussions anymore. It was clear Master Katara knew that something had happened during his training with Avatar Aang. The question was how much she knew.

Thankfully, she never seemed to get the right chance to ask. Noatak made sure he would streak away from the lessons right as it ended and flee to his room in their home-because, despite his conflicted feelings about the family, it was the only place he had to stay in the entire city-and shut the door and locked it. Tight. And he would stay there until the next morning, where he would exit for the next lesson and maybe swipe something from the kitchen to each. Noatak was too proud to eat with the family as if nothing had happened.

But eventually, Master Katara's lessons came to an end, and it was time for the Avatar and his family to continue through the four nations on their traditional peacekeeping tour. The goodbye celebrations were extravagant and incredible, the Northern Water Tribe holding nothing back as canals and bridges were decorated with intricate and dazzling ice etchings, master waterbenders provided entertainment by way of dances, designs, and even battles, and the feast was so rich and had so much food that even the table all the platters sat seemed swollen.

Noatak did not attend. Instead, he elected to shut himself in his room as usual and turn his back to the windows so he wouldn't have to look at the festivities. That didn't, however, stop the music and laughter to drift in. He plugged his ears and recited waterbending techniques in his head to drown out the sounds, wishing he could just leave and never look back. But no ship was going to be willing to leave this night. Not with the party that was going on outside.

Thankfully, however, there were always products that needed to be exported out of the Northern Water Tribe. At the crack of dawn-Noatak had been unable to sleep all night in anticipation-he crept out of the grand home that he had come to see as a retreat, a place of solitude and safety, and fled towards the docks.

There, a few large boats were bobbing in the water, swelling, no doubt, with intricate pottery and exotic fishes and seafood that the rest of the world found so appetizing. Their blue flags flapped in the cold wind as the sailors began to finish their preparations for departure. Noatak hurriedly ran down the slope and tapped one of the sailors on the shoulder. The rough looking man whirled to glare down at him, but Noatak did not back down.

"I'm looking for a ride to the Earth Kingdoms," Noatak told the sailor, whose roaring laughter was the first noise of the day, making Noatak's eardrums ring a little.

"We're not a ferry boat service, kid," the sailor told him. "Wait for the next ship this afternoon."

"I want to go now," Noatak said emphatically.

"Well, that's not my problem," he shrugged before turning away and beginning to make for his ship.

"I can waterbend!" Noatak called after him, jogging so he wouldn't be left in the dust. "I can navigate through the currents and get you to your destination that much faster."

The sailor hesitated before looking over his shoulder. His mates shouted for him to hurry it up, but he raised a hand to pause them.

"How good a waterbender are you?" the sailor said suspiciously.

"The best," Noatak replied without hesitation, "of my generation, of course," he hurriedly tacked on. There was no sense sounding like he was putting himself above the Avatar or Master Katara.

The sailor still looked dubious though, so Noatak took off his gloves and flexed his fingers.

"Fine," he muttered, "I'll prove it to you." Without a single moment's thought, he strode to the edge of the docks, the snow crunching under his feet, and took a strong stance.

He could feel the eyes of all the sailors and ships on him at that moment, and he suddenly felt incredibly nervous. It was a stupid notion to have, especially considering he was able to do harder moves in front of the Master Katara, but there was no use for it; Noatak had stage fright. He gritted his teeth together and he moved his arms-although it was more of a spasm than a graceful shift back, so the water in front of him sloshed a little instead of actually making a wave as he had intended. Furthermore, it was hard to tell if the water moved from waterbending at all or if it was just the wind disturbing its surface or water that happened to rise up there.

There was laughter from all sides now as the sailors began to walk away from the edges of their ships, whooping at the "best waterbender of his generation". Noatak stood rooted to the spot, horrified at how terrible his blunder was. He stared at the water as he could feel one of the ships beginning to move out.

_No_. He had to do this. He had to get out _now_. It was imperative that he didn't see the Avatar or Master Katara or their family again, because he knew that they'd somehow guilt him into coming with them in their worldly rounds. He couldn't stay with them-not after what happened-and he certainly couldn't stay stranded in the Northern Water Tribe. No more waiting. No more putting things off. It was time he moved on.

With a grunt of frustration and exertion, Noatak created a giant wave that slammed against the stern of the ship that was almost halfway out of the bay. He nearly capsized it, the masts careening perilously and the sailors shouting and seizing ropes and the sides of the ship for dear life. With another huff, Noatak settled the wave before pulling the ship back with waterbending, rocking forwards and back, concentration on working against the natural current until the large ship had been dragged right where it had began.

"I said I'm looking for a ride," Noatak said firmly at the sailors on said ship. They stared at him in astonishment.

Minutes later, Noatak was sitting on the deck as the winds began to carry them across the sea.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry again for my absence! I have exams next week, so I've been studying like crazy. After that, I'll be going to a place without Internet connection, so I probably won't be able to update chapters. However, I'm taking my laptop, so hopefully I'll get quite a few chapters for you to look at when I get back. Still, you shouldn't expect an update for 2-3 weeks. Sorry!**

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As it turned out, Noatak didn't have to do much work at all. The current and the winds were favorable that day, so it ended up that he basically had a free ride to the Earth Kingdoms. If the other sailors noticed this, they didn't say anything, although they did steal furtive glances at him while he sat on the deck, which resulted in Noatak retiring below decks and finding a free cot to sleep in for the rest of the trip.

Being inside a ship was strange for Noatak. Before, he was on something that was closer to a raft than an actual boat, and the water was surrounding him. On a boat, though, it was like he was caged in. He could feel the thing rocking back and forth in the water, but it felt like Noatak was still isolated and cut off from it. It was a strange sensation.

The free time, however, allowed Noatak to really think about what his plan was. He was away from the Water Tribes, that was true, but he couldn't be sure Yakone had given up in his search for him. If Noatak knew Yakone, he probably dismissed Noatak for dead a long time ago, but Noatak didn't want to take any chances. Was he planning on being a nomad forever, though? The reason he wanted to leave Yakone was because he hated his life there. Didn't that mean he should have the opportunity to make himself a new one?

Well, not as a bloodbender, obviously. Noatak sneered at the ceiling. And not as the son of crime lord Yakone. Wherever he went, Yakone's shadow drifted behind him like a poisonous smog.

To be safe, Noatak finally decided, it would be best for him to make up a name, and perhaps even hide his face for a while. When the scars of Yakone have disappeared, then Noatak would allow himself to relax and settle down. Until then, he had to be on the alert. He couldn't trust anyone.

But of course, with that decision he had to figure out what he wanted to call himself, now. Noatak frowned. How did someone name themselves? He was sure he didn't want a Water Tribe name anymore simply for the sake of anonymity (even though it was painful to relinquish his culture with everything else). He should probably try for an extremely common name...but some part of Noatak was against that. He wanted to lie low, but not so low that no one would ever remember him. He was not the sort of person that settled for being forgotten, despite the logic that told him that the less he was recognized, the better.

Somewhere along the way, Noatak lulled himself to sleep, because when the captain shouted they had arrived, Noatak shot out of his straw mattress and promptly rolled and collapsed onto the floor as the ship came to an abrupt stop. There was a pounding on the door as he groaned and started to sit up.

"We're here, freeloader," someone growled into the room. "Get up and get out."

Gee, Noatak thought to himself, thanks. He got to his feet and shook himself out before shuffled over to the door. He pulled it open and peeked around the edge of it to see that the hall was alive with activity, the sailors carrying crates of products and scurrying back to collect the ones that still needed to be taken out. Noatak slid into the current and walked along the lines of workers until he was released on the deck, the easy breeze teasing at his hair and the smell of salt filling his nose. It must've been around midday. He stared out into the open ocean behind the ship, drinking in the horizon, before turning and taking in his first look at the Earth Kingdoms.

The little town had few people and only had rickety looking roofs over their heads, but for whatever lack of bare necessities they had they made up in attitude. There seemed to be some sort of celebration going on, little children running around with masks-animal masks, masks of creatures of the Spirit World (Noatak tried to recognize a few, but his spiritual knowledge was spotty at best), masks of tribal looking human faces-dancers swirling in the center of the town, and venders eagerly taking the ship's products to the shore. He heard one of them say, "You guys have great timing. We were running out of fire flakes."

Noatak cautiously approached the edge of the ship, glancing at the plank of wood meant to bridge him across the space into the water. It didn't look very stable. But one of the impatient sailors pushed him forward and nearly made him fall into the ocean, so Noatak swallowed his misgivings and cautiously made his way across the board.

In a way, this passage was much more symbolic than Noatak realized. As he stepped onto the wooden dock and made his way towards the shoreline, he could feel his old life getting farther and farther behind him. Noatak forced himself not to look back, watching the earth inching closer. As he took his first step onto the dirt, he took a deep sigh and closed his eyes, reveling in the moment. He had taken his first step on Earth Kingdom lands.

And then he was promptly tackled and plummeted towards the ground, cheerful giggling filling his ears. He groaned as he guessed what happened. Noatak shifted under the weight of two children-twin boys, by the look of it-and grumbled, "Get off of me!" Honestly, was he going to be brought down to the ground by children in every new land he went?

"Tohru! Ilsung!" a woman-presumably their mother-called for them. "What are you doing?" The boys paid her no mind, grinning as they waved pinwheels and flags in Noatak's face.

"Alright!" Noatak said impatiently. "Alright, yeah, they're great toys. Now please get off of me."

The boys rolled their eyes at Noatak's inability to appreciate true ingenuity when he saw it, but they did as he asked.

"Thank you," he growled as he sat up and rubbed his head. Packed dirt was much harder than snow.

"I'm sorry about that," the woman said breathlessly as she approached. Up close, she seemed much too young to be a mother of two boys.

"I should've been watching them more closely," she continued. Noatak shook his head a little to stop the ringing in his ears as he got to his feet.

"It's, uh, no problem," he grunted.

"Are you alright?" she asked, concerned. She reached forward and dusted out Noatak's now disheveled hair. He impatiently brushed her hand away and undid his ponytail, raking a hand through his hair before pulling it back with deft, practiced movements.

"I'm fine," he said shortly. "

Although she didn't look completely convinced, she only pressed her lips together and tucked her stray hair behind an ear. "Okay, then," she said, sounding a bit put off. "Where are you coming from?" she asked before Noatak could get a word in.

"Northern Water Tribe," Noatak said tartly, beginning to walk away. It was time he got going.

"Oh, are you a waterbender?" the woman asked politely trailing after him. He glared reproachfully over his shoulder at her and the twins that happily skipped behind her.

"No," he said before turning forwards again.

"Oh," the woman said with distinct disappointment in her voice. Noatak felt a flash of anger. Wasn't there anyone he could make happy for once?

"Well, that's okay," she said as if she was trying to convince Noatak that he wasn't, in fact, inadequate, although Noatak hadn't said anything that indicated he was upset or thought he was in the wrong. "I'm an earthbender, by the way." She said it with such pride that Noatak felt like waterbending right then and there to show her up. It was clear that she thought herself above others because of her bending ability. But what Noatak said was, "How nice for you."

She stared at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to say something else. Noatak stared at her, stumped, when he realized that a nonbender in this woman's mind would probably be begging her to show off some of her best earthbending moves. Noatak suppressed a sigh and asked, "Would you mind showing me a few techniques?"

"Certainly!" she crowed, pausing in their trek as she got into her stance. Noatak stopped as well. The other two boys giggled madly and ran around Noatak and the woman, about as excited as she was.

The woman looked around to see where she might be able to show off without messing anything up too much. She cast her gaze to the shoreline, where the ground was stony and hard packed. She waggled her eyebrows and nodded towards the area. Noatak closed his eyes so she wouldn't see him roll them and turned obediently to stare at the shore. With a grunt and a punch into the air, the woman made a long stretch of stone and earth jut into the sea, the water parting around it. It was clear that she had bended the entire cliff rather than just the surface of the earth. Noatak figured that was pretty impressive, but he secretly thought that he could've done something better with his waterbending.

"That was very nice," he complimented. It sounded hollow and generic to him, but the other woman swelled with pride.

"I'm Rika," she introduced herself, holding out a hand. "And these two are my baby brothers."

"Nice to meet you," Noatak shook her hand without introducing himself. This is why he should've thought of a name before hand. She watched him as if expecting him to tell her his name any second now, and when he tried to drop the handshake, she held on.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Uh," Noatak began to say, scrambling for a random, common name to use, when the town square burst into more activity than it had previously. Noatak jumped, but the other three seemed excited. Rika quickly forgot that Noatak had not told her his name and used her grip on his hand to her advantage, dragging him along into the square.

"Come on!" Rika said excitedly. For a young adult, she acted just like a child. "The play is starting."

"Play?" Noatak repeated, bewildered. His question was answered, however, when they finally came close to the small, rickety stage situated in the center of the square. The bamboo base seemed like it was going to crack any second underneath the feet of the actors, who were wearing costumes and masks. There was a hunchback with a large nose and upturned eyes, a tall, brooding figure with a harsh, straight nose and a red sun on his forehead, a colorful, pompous looking woman with sequined feathers bursting from the corners of the eyes on her mask, and many more. Noatak tried to absorb all the colors and characters on the stage.

"This is the legend of how our town came about," Rika said with nationalistic pride. "There was a great battle because this town was on the coast, and the Spirits wanted to have control over it because it would become on of the most prosperous trading cities in the future"-Noatak glanced around and doubted that this was true, because this town looked anything but rich and prosperous, but he didn't say anything-"so there was a great war over the city before the citizens chose which Spirit they wanted to reign over the place."

As Noatak watched the story unfold before him, Rika supplied quick, whispered commentary into his ear. He tried to tune her out as best as he could, because she was basically ruining the entire story for him. He focused in on the brilliantly decorated and prideful bird woman named Hybrice, who danced across the stage and declared she would give the town riches and glory. There was a troop of Spirits behind her, eager to follow a Spirit that they believed would easily win the town. The citizens were tempted, and they certainly wanted glory, but they were uncertain of the bird Spirit's attitude, her pride. The remaining Spirit, left alone except for perhaps one or two loyal followers, approached the town next. The other Spirits jeered and mocked him, but for whatever lack of riches he offered the town, he promised equality and justice. Noatak stared in awe, feeling a connection with the Spirit on the stage.

But in the end, the town chose Hybrice. Noatak felt a flash of anger and outrage, but his small exclamation was drowned out under the roars of approval and applause.

"Why did they do that?" Noatak hissed to the cheering Rika. "Why did they accept the bird Spirit?"

"What do you mean?" Rika asked, confused, although she didn't really pay him much mind. She was too busy whooping.

"Why would they trade equality for power?" Noatak asked.

"Who wouldn't?" Rika demanded impatiently. Noatak stared at her and then he rest of the crowd around him. He had power. He knew what it was like. It wasn't that great.

Noatak felt a sudden revulsion for this little town and wanted to leave right then and there, but unfortunately, Rika had other plans. As he was trying to slink away, Rika seized his wrist and began to drag him around the booths, showing him masks and treats and costumes and kites based on the play. Children were waving little drums, twisting the handles so the strings with wooden balls would hit the surfaces. Noatak forced himself to keep his cool, telling himself that he could get out of here soon. He just had to persevere.

The celebrations about choosing pride and power over justice and equality, however, sickened Noatak. What would these people say if they knew that he was a bloodbender? They would probably turn on him rather than party on about how great he was for having such an ability. Hypocrites and gluttons, the lot of them.

Somehow along the way, Rika roped Noatak into staying over for the night at her family's house. How did that even happen? Regardless, Noatak recovered from the swirl of color and excitement to find himself tucked between two thin blankets on a wooden floor. He was wide awake as Rika and her two brothers breathed loudly around him. It was impossible to sleep, but even if it was completely silent, Noatak doubted he'd be able to. He was still boiling mad about the events that morning, and he wondered how his trip had taken such a sour turn.

Sighing and snapping out of his "bed", Noatak stepped around the twins on either side of him and gingerly slid open the door of the bedroom, keeping an eye on Rika's sleeping form on the single bed here. Successfully sneaking out of the room, Noatak padded through the house and out into the cool night.

He could hear the water from here, the full moon shining down on its surface. He'd forgotten that it was the full moon tonight, in all the excitement. Noatak focused in on the push and pull of the waves, more powerful and higher than usual, although very few people could really hear it except for the most trained ears-waterbender ears. It was possibly the most soothing and painful noise he'd heard in his life. Noatak's fingers twitched, tempted to try to waterbend, but he forced down the urge against the full moon's pull.

Under the full moon, he could also feel the pulses of the townspeople with higher intensity than usual. Every throb of the heart rang through him and pressed up against his ears. He gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists, taking a random path that lead him into the square of the town. The stage was still sitting there, the ratty curtains pulled back to expose the half-put away costumes and masks and props on the bamboo. Noatak climbed up onto it just for the sake of doing something, moodily sifting through the boxes in a vain attempt to shut out all the sounds around him. He hated it. He hated being a waterbender.

It took him a moment to discover that he was holding the mask of the bird woman Spirit. Noatak flung it away on impulse, disgusted, before he reminded himself that it was just a mask made of wood as it clattered onto the hard packed earth below. He glanced into the box again and saw the mask of the Spirit that had lost the town. The fading yellow paint curled just below the cheekbones and down along the cheeks just until the bottom corners of the mouth before pulling back. There was more paint that curled over the thin eye holes, making the expression more severe and almost intimidating. Painted on the forehead in a shade that made it seem to glow in the night was a blood red circle. Noatak pulled it out and traced a thumb around the eyes and mouth openings. Despite his dislike for the outcome of the play in general, Noatak found that he much enjoyed this character. This Spirit stood for equality, a Spirit treating his townspeople just as he would himself and other Spirits. Power was never the answer. Power was sickening. And as if to remind him, the pumping hearts of the town and the wet sounding palpitations thrummed around Noatak.

Noatak put his face into the mask, cool from the night air, and stared out into the sea. He wondered what it would be like to be someone who brandished equality for all people. No doubt he would have opposition-like all great heroes-but he would also be exalted for a liberator. A savior.

He took off the mask and set it into his lap, still watching the sea. He was no hero. He was a criminal. Noatak put a hand onto the face of the mask and brought it up, again.

Criminals had masks. Noatak smiled wryly and put the mask on his face once more after undoing his pony tail and letting his hair slip over his shoulders. He tied the string behind his head and adjusted the mask. It was quite comfortable, actually, despite the limited visibility and the slight feeling of claustrophobia. Noatak figured he would get used to it.

Overcome with a flash of dark amusement, now, Noatak snatched up the dark cloth of the costume that had went with the mask, taking the bits and pieces that would fit him. In the end, he only had a black cloak and a pair of more appropriately made boots for the Earth Kingdom. It would do, for now. He just had to hide his Water Tribe clothing.

Now he needed a new name. Well, Noatak still didn't have any idea what he wanted to call himself.

_Well, why not make the set complete?_ he asked himself with amusement. He would just take the name of the Spirit that he was masquerading as. Hopefully, no one beyond the next town would know of such a small legend. Now, what was the character's name?

"I am Amon," Noatak whispered to himself. The sea gave him answer enough.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hello! Please forgive the spotty updates recently. Please stick with me! I'm back with hopefully more reliable updates. I'm sorry you guys. You shouldn't have to deal with this. However, I hope you all had a great holiday! Cheers to a new year. :)**

**Also, I had almost finished the following chapter when my computer deleted the entire thing (which I have no idea why, because it was supposed to have autosave on it. Needless to say, I was rather ... upset), so the one below is the "A;LSKDJF;ALSKDFJ;LAKS; GOD COMPUTER SERIOUSLY HONESTLY REALLY" version done at three a.m. after a solid hour, at least, of work completely gone. So ... yeah. ^^''**

**I'm rating this chapter more PG-13 because there's some not-so-kid-friendly stuff. I mean, it's nothing too intense, but there are, like, burned corpses. Just FYI.**

**Because I was gone for so long, I shall provide a triple update! Indeed, yes! Hm, I wonder how many different people read this, though? Oh, well. I'm honored that you have followed along this long. ^^**

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Noatak did not wait for the family to wake up. He slipped back inside the house and took everything that he thought might be useful and what he'd need for a trip-although he wasn't sure for how long. He took a backpack and a water skin he'd found in the third closet he checked, filling the water skin with water from the well outside and dumping random items that he found around the house into the pack. Fruits. Bread. Map that looked five years out of date. Dried meat (he wasn't sure what kind of meat exactly, which made him vaguely apprehensive). Some extra clothes he'd swiped off of Rika's father (well, bigger was better than much-too-small, Noatak figured, which was basically what Rika's brothers were). He had little qualms about stealing from these people, and he told himself that he should really be feeling much more guilty, especially when they had allowed him to stay the night with, considering, very little questions. But somehow, he could not bring himself to feel sorry. He almost, in fact, stole one of the more expensive pieces of jewelry of Rika's mother's when he went into the room for her father's clothes for the sake of selling it later, but he decided against it. For one thing, stealing fruit and bread was nothing compared to a string of jade and pearls, and for another, hefting that around on a path alone was just begging for trouble.

And with that, like a phantom, Noatak disappeared into the night. He took off running, heading along the clear, earth-packed dirt path leading out from the town and heading south. He knew that there was a small town from the map he'd stolen, but while there was a scale on the map, he had no idea how to read it. But as long as the water was at his back and the distance between him and the Water Tribes was growing, he was satisfied. That was good enough for him.

It was strange, travelling with a mask on, because firstly, it was nighttime and no one was around to see him in the mask (much less him without), and secondly because he couldn't feel the wind on his face when he ran. It was a weird sort of detachment that Noatak hadn't realized he would miss until he was missing it. The inside of the mask was quickly becoming heated with his own breath, and that was all he could hear. His sigh was limited by the eye holes, as well. Noatak didn't like the fact that his senses were cut off-because of the obvious reasons, of course, but also because he instictively began depending on bloodbending to fill in the holes for him. It was something he'd done ever since he'd learned and mastered bloodbending as a child. The North Pole got long, dark, cold nights during the winter, and during those nights it was impossible for any oil lamp to penetrate the sheer blackness that had taken over the tundra. It was easier, then, to figure out the space relative to the other beating hearts in the house, or how many wolves were outside right then, or how many of the predators there were. Even now, Noatak could hear the small, fluttering heartbeats of small birds and animals sleeping or bounding through the trees lining either side of him. But he reminded himself that he had promised he would no longer use bloodbending.

He hesitated, however. It was difficult for him to really give up one of his "senses". The other time he would ever use bloodbending was to control another living being, but if it was just to give him another pair of eyes and ears, so to speak...

No, he couldn't allow himself this indulgence. There was a line he had to draw, and Noatak knew that he had to stick with his own vow whether he wanted to or not. He was not allowed to decide when and where bloodbending was allowed based on the convenience of the situation. Otherwise, one thing would lead to another, and then what? He'd be nothing better than one of the criminals Master Katara had spoken about. He'd be nothing better than Yakone.

With a repressed shudder, Noatak began to stifle the automatic, additional sensory ability he'd aquired. Slowly, gradually, he felt the prickling at his fingertips begin to recede and the small, thumping beats that tickled his eardrums begin to fade. He was proud that he could do this, because this meant that he was able to control bloodbening whether it had been a conscious decision to use it or not. He could choose what sort of man he wanted to be. It was liberating to know something like this.

For hour or two, however, Noatak did not bother with philosophies or internal monologues. He simply ran, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. He switched from running to walking to dragging to jogging and then sprinting again, pushing his stamina as far as he could. His ribs were beginning to bother him again, although he had thought he had made a full recovery, but then again he supposed Kaya could've faked the results a little. Noatak might've been a monster of a healing feat, but there was no way, realistically, his bones would've mended in such a short time. He had just been too anxious to realize it at the time, which struck him as stupid, now.

Eventually, when the sun began to come up and the sky began to purple, Noatak allowed himself a bried rest on the side of the road. He collapsed onto the grass and immediately fell onto his back to stare at the sky. He allowed himself to watch as the purple turned to red, then orange, then yellow, and before his eyes it somehow flowed into an incredible baby blue shade. Noatak munched on one of the apples from his backpack and drank at least half the waterskin as he observed the wolrd do its thing. It wasn't that he'd never watched the sun rise before, it was just that it looked different in the mainland. He did it a lot of times in the North Pole with Tarrlok-

There he went, thinking about his brother again! Noatak flung the now half-eaten core of an apple in a random direction towards the trees, grimacing at the inside of his mask. While he didn't want to forget about Tarrlok forever, he certainly didn't want to be reminded of him everytime he ate an apple, either. There was a point where sentimentality got in the way. Noatak considered this for a moment, wondering if there was a way that he could completely stop being reminded of Tarrlok every two minutes, but he finally decided that, of course, there was no possibility that was going to happen. Memories were memories, and he would have to deal with it when they came. Noatak supposed the problem wasn't that they happened moreso that they brought up unresolved feelings and questions. What could've been.

Impatient to get moving, now, Noatak rose, putting on his backpack and waterskin. He nearly sat right back down as he hissed in pain. His legs were like stones and aching like crazy, sending throbs up and down their length. He gritted his teeth and took a few steps forward when he really did crumple right back down. This was what he got for not getting a steed or a cart or something when he left the town. His planning skills had been declining, lately. Usually it had always been Tarrlok that-

Noatak stood up again, grunting but ignoring the pain this time as he began to walk along the path, again. Eventually, he reached a slope and nearly gave up, thinking that he could probably last one night in the forest when he reminded himself that his supplies weren't enough to sustain him. It was important that he got to the town today so he could replenish his backpack and waterskin and continue on his way.

Think of it as training, Noatak encouraged himself. Reasonably, if he was going to get by without any bending at all, he would have to start training his physical body more. He didn't meant to get into fights left and right, but if he wasn't going to use some of the most powerful fighting styles to his advantage, then it was important that he developed his muscles more than his technique. He stuggled up the slope, waddling along like some penguin, and feeling just as hot as one in his black clothes under the sun in the middle of the Earth Kingdom. He concentrated putting one foot in front of the other as his next goal. He stared at his feet the entire time to make sure he accomplished this goal. And it was because he'd been looking down that he did not immediately realize what was going on aroun him, although his nose picked it up easily.

Noatak paused as the smell hit his face. He frowned as he sniffed. It was sweet and sticky, but also acrid and stung his eyes and made his choke a little, although his mask kept off the worst of it. He could tell what sort of thing this smell beloned to, as he found the word for it as his eyes found it swirling just beyond the crest of the hill. _Smoke._

Noatak kept his eyes on the thick black plume being coughed up into the sky. It looked like there had been a huge fire, although apparently it was tapering off now. Still, that didn't make Noatak any less worried, and he wondered if he would have to use waterbending to save everyone.

When he cleared the hill, however, he knew that his worries were baseless-for waterbending, that is. It was clear there had been a town, but the fire had burned everything in it and around down so far into the ground that it was hard to believe that anything had once lived in that space. Noatak stumbled down the slope of the hill and ran into the town, trying decipher what had happened there. The wood frames of the buildings had all but crumbled, a few brave beams sticking out of the ash-covered ground. The earth was charred to a crisp. There was no sound there. No animals were calling and there was no wind. A few rebellious, small fires spluttered and flickered in small piles of not-completely-burned-to-a-crisp wood. He was beginning to doubt that the culprit had just been some freak accident fire, although he hadn't really considered that in the first place. The plume had been too large and the town too spread out to have fallen completely to one rogue flame.

It was a gruesome sight. The entire place looked like some sort of skeleton, all the skin and muscle torn away to reveal the brittle bone underneath. Noatak could see the ghost structures of the town that had once been from the few frames that were still standing lopsided in the dirt. There were bodies strewn about, burned alive, apparently, some mouths still open in terror. They were lying on the streets, in carts, in the doorways of their homes...No, this definitely was not just a common fire.

It was a disgusting smell. The stench of burned wood and bodies rolled through the town and air and made Noatak want to gag. His stomach heaved multiple times and he almost threw up right into his mask. He was able to keep it down, however. He clapped his hand over the nose holes in his mask, and his eyes were watering, but he was able to keep control of himself for a little bit longer.

"Hello?" Noatak called. His voice echoed eerily.

"Hello!" he cried again. There was no answer. He glanced around, anxious to leave the place.

_Three minutes,_ he told himself. _Three minutes. If you don't find anybody by then, you can leave._

"Is anyone there?" he shouted for someone-anyone-to answer for the third (and what Noatak anticiapted would be for the last) time. He swallowed hard as the silence following his voice surrounded him.

It was a stressful sound. Silence. It pressed on him from all sides. It made a palpable, physical force against his eardrums and sucked up his shouts for any survivors. True silence, he realized, was rare. There was never any time in his life that he had been in such a silence as this one. There were no animals calling and there was no breeze blowing. It was as if this town had been pulled out of the world for a moment. That the area around it had paused. Everything had stopped so the earth could mourn for the loss of these people.

Three minutes are up, he told himself. Go. He turned, prepared to go back and wondering if he should tell someone about this and wondering what he would even say, when his cloak was seized from behind with such strength and viciousness that the collar cut into his throat. Noatak gagged as he was pulled back, an arm coming around and locking his jugular in a strangle hold.

"Who are you?" the owner of the arm growled in his ear. It was clear this voice belonged to a young man, although he seemed older than Noatak.

"From-town-north of here," Noatak answered with weak gasps. "Not-here-to hurt..."

With a snort, the man let Noatak go. Noatak collapsed onto the eart and coughed and wheezed as he felt the oxygen begin to pump through him, once again.

"You're from the Water Tribe?" the person asked. Noatak started and glanced over himself. He saw that, during his struggle, his cloak must've shown the bright, declarative blue his Water Tribe garb had. Damn, he should've changed when he was at Rika's house. Although, if he thought about it, he wasn't overly fond of the idea of undressing and trying on Rika's father's clothes so casually.

"Are you from the Water Tribe?" the person demanded, seizing Noatak's collar, although this time they were facing each other. The man was perhaps twenty or so at the most and eighteen or nineteen at least, his ice blue eyes sharp and unyielding and a small mustache beginning to grow on his upper lip. Needless to say, little boy Noatak had little chance fighting this man off if he did not use his waterbending-which he was determined to not do.

"Yes! Yes, I am," Noatak said hastily, forgetting that he was supposed to be lying for a moment.

"Can you waterbend?" When Noatak didn't anwer quick enough, the man gave him a rough shake as if to shake the anwer out of him. "Can you waterbend?"

"No!" Noatak practically shouted at the man. At least he remembered he had to lie about that. The man paused at stared at Noatak's mask as if trying to see if he could find the truth written on its surface. Then, all the of energy was sucked from him. His shoulders slumped, his back curled, his head fell forward, and he replaced Noatak onto the ground with a bit more dignity than he had previously (Noatak landed on his feet this time). he watched the ground betweenhis feet for a moment with sheer disbelief before he turned around and began to walk away from Noatak without another word.

"Wait!" Noatak shouted after him, struggling to his feet. He bounded after the man, who had not waited, replied, or in any way acknowledged that Noatak had addressed him.

"Is there still a fire going on?" Noatak asked. "Is that why you asked why I was a waterbender?" He trailed along the man's side, peppering him with small questions. "What are you doing here? You're a survivor, right? Are you alone? Are there more of you?" When he was not answering, Noatak put his hand on his upper arm as a way to get his attention. Had he been injured?

Immediately, the man seized Noatak's wrist and twisted his arm behind his back, pulling and making Noatak's old shoulder wound burn. He shouted out a little and gritted his teeth.

"Do not touch me," the man hissed before letting Noatak go. Noatak gasped and groaned, rolling his shoulder and glaring at the man's receding back as he continued on his way to the edge of the city. Grimacing, Noatak followed after. If there was still some sort of fire or some other trouble, then the guy would be thankful to have Noatak along. While he promised he wouldn't, Noatak decided that he would use waterbending here if he had to. There was a difference between holding back and being unforgiveably selfish. If there was a building on fire and he had a chance to save lives, Noatak refused to be an unforgiveably selfish boy.

Fortunately, the man did not lead them to another house but rather a part of town that had not quite been completely eaten up by the flames. While parts were charred and blackened and a few of them closer to the center were as bony as the ones on the other side of town, in comparison, these buildings were in impeccable condition. And the man went right for the one at the very, very end of the street that was pratically intact. Noatak was surprised how little the man seemed to care that Noatak was following him.

The man ducked inside the home and Noatak followed him, curiosity driving him, now. And if the man hadn't stopped him, then what was the problem with going in? As soon as he stepped inside, however, he realized why the man wanted a waterbender.

The woman on the couch was in terrible shape, over half of her body burned and an angry red. Boils and blisters had developed over some of the more severe areas, and almost all of her hair had been burned off or charred. Her eyes were closed and it was clear that she was on the brink of death. The only indication that she was still alive was the unmistakeable little lift and fall of her chest at an alarmingly quick pace.

"You needed a healer," Noatak said helplessly. Here he stood, a waterbender, and even now he couldn't do anything to help this woman. There was nothing he could do. He was stuck with the disgusting, destructive branch of waterbending that brought nothing but pain. And when there was a dying human being lying there right in front of him, he couldn't save them. Because he hadn't been blessed with the power to heal. Only maim.

"Her name is Seung," the man croaked, one hand cautiously squeezing the less burned one of hers as he knelt by her side.

"Is she...?"

"My fiance," he replied to the half-formed question. He choked, spluttered, and brought her fingers to his forehead as he bent his face forward and cried. Well, he didn't make any sounds, but Noatak could tell that he was crying. His entire body was shaking like a leaf in the wind.

"How?"

"Firebenders. Came into the town. I was...I was out hunting. Didn't catch anything. I was getting ready for her to yell at me because we'd have nothing to eat," he said thickly into his lap.

Firebenders. Was it always benders that destroyed everyone else's happiness?

"Can..." Noatak asked tentatively. "Can you move her? Can she be moved?" He half considered suggesting they went back to the town that he had just come from, since he knew that there were benders there (and there would probably be at least one healer), but what he said was, "Maybe we can bring her to the next town and see if they have a healer."

"Can't," he moaned, rocking back and forth. "Can't do it. Nothing to carry her with. Everything's gone."

Noatak helplessly watched as the man now openly sobbed, his cries ringing through the room. Noatak had been his last hope, and now he had none. Unless a miracle happened right now, the woman wasn't going to make it.

Feeling as if he didn't belong-that he most definitely did not belong-Noatak stepped outside, sitting on the stairs leading to the entrance of the home as the man's peals of anguish echoed through the town. It seemed to shake to its very core. Noatak went from between covering his ears to crying a little himself. It was so unfair. It was so wrong. The firebenders came in and out of this town so quickly and so easily and burned it to ash as if it was nothing. Destoryed everything. Took away everything. Was there no hope for benders? Were they all just made to assert themselves? Was there no such thing as a kind, benevolent bender? Even Master Katara, even the Avatar, weren't innocent. They proclaimed peoples' death sentences. Because of them, Noatak was born...

Noatak covered his ears again in the middle of the night, shivering on his side on the wood of the stairs as the man continued to lament of his lost love. The sounds had started with a new layer of loss. She had clearly just died. Noatak thought he was going to die, too.

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**A/N: three guesses who the mystery man is. idk if it's canon if he's older than Amon or not, but I thought that it worked so yeah.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: And finally they're walking along together~**

**Yeah, it's Lieutentant that he's walking with. Well, they had to meet eventually, right? And sorry about the typical reason why he hates all benders, but there is a reason why I chose the situation that I did. (;**

**Let's begin! Ahaha I'm really excited now ^^''**

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Noatak started from his curled up position on the ground. For a moment, he panicked, thinking the sky had fallen down in his sleep or perhaps it was still nighttime or he had been put in a box of some sort, because all he saw was blackness and he was very aware of his own breathing. Then he remembered that he was still wearing the mask. He didn't believe that he'd fallen asleep with it on. Groaning a little, he sat up, his shoulder prickling from the strain it had been put under the day before and his back aching from the way he had been sleeping. Noatak stretched and rolled his head a little bit to try and loosen up while he tried to figure out what woke him up.

It wasn't hard to figure out; moments after he cast his gaze around, Noatak saw the man from the day before exiting the home. On his back was a quiver of arrows and a bow, and at his waist was a water skin and a multitude of different knives, although they all looked like they were for hunting animals. A sack was slung across his shoulder, no doubt holding his provisions. There was a determined, hardened look on the man's face as he began to leave the town without so much as a "good morning" to Noatak. Having a very distinct feeling of what the man was setting out to do, Noatak chased after him, forgetting his fatigue.

"Where are you going?" he asked, coming up to the man's side and matching his long strides as best he could.

"Going to go find them," the man replied shortly.

"The firebenders?" Noatak clarified. The man didn't answer, which Noatak took as an affirmation. "There's no way you can take them by yourself." No answer.

"Let me come with you," Noatak encouraged. The man glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, you'll need help," Noatak said. "I promise I won't be a burden," he added hastily, realizing he must seem like an immature kid looking for adventure. Still, the man didn't tell him to mind his own business outright; he looked away and continued walking. It seemed he didn't care whether or not Noatak came with him. So Noatak stayed by his side. It was wrong that the firebenders had done what they did, and Noatak knew that the man certainly wasn't going to survive fighting them by himself. While Noatak wasn't good at fighting, he had waterbending, and if he needed to, he would use it to bring the firebenders to justice. This was something he couldn't ignore. Even now, the very memory of hearing the man's lamentations made the hairs rise on the back of his neck.

"What's your name?" Noatak asked conversationally as the silence began to lengthen.

"Xi-Wang Liu," the man told Noatak easily enough. Noatak nodded.

"Should I call you 'Xi-Wang' or 'Mister Liu'?"

"Whatever," he snapped. When Noatak said nothing else, Xi-Wang asked in turn, "And what's your name? You didn't answer me yesterday."

"You mean the time you were strangling me?" Noatak asked serenely.

"Sorry," Xi-Wang grunted.

"Don't worry about it. I'm Noa-Amon," Noatak hastily corrected himself. The first time he went to introduce himself to someone with his new alias, and he messed it up! Xi-Wang cast a curious glance at Noatak, an eyebrow arched. His gaze looked over the mask and the dark get up Noatak had on. Then Xi-Wang looked forwards again and didn't ask any more questions. Noatak was beginning to like this guy.

The odd pair began their vindictive stroll along the path, the trees becoming taller and denser the farther they walked. Noatak stared in fascination for a while and allowed himself to indulge in his fourteen year old wonder of what a new world the Earth Kingdom was when, as the sun reached its apex, he had to ask Xi-Wang, "Do you know where you're going?"

Xi-Wang didn't answer, which Noatak took as a negative.

"What, you're just following the path and hoping you'll find the firebenders that attacked your village?" Noatak scoffed in disbelief. When Xi-Wang didn't make some sort of rebuke as Noatak had expected, the boy challenged him, "Do you even know what they look like? Or what you're doing? Do you have any kind of plan? At all?"

In a flash, Xi-Wang's bow was off of his back and an arrow was notched, the tip pointing with deadly precision at Noatak's chest. He froze, staring at the bone point.

"How old are you, kid?" Xi-Wang hissed. Noatak swallowed and answered him with a small voice, "Fourteen."

"I'm twenty," Xi-Wang spat. "Seung was my first love, right? I knew her since I was a kid. We were supposed to have a family together. We were supposed to grow old together. We were supposed to die together. You get that, kid?"

What else could Noatak do but nod? He stared, unsure if Xi-Wang was going to shoot him or break down and cry.

"I spent twenty of my young life with her at my side, and I was expecting another twenty," Xi-Wang shouted at Noatak, the bow beginning to quiver with nearly uncontained rage. "And last night, I come home and find out that she's burned to the point where I almost didn't recognize who she was! Last night, I come home and my entire town is gone. Last night, I pick up some_ punk_"-Xi-Wang poked Noatak a little with the arrow tip. Noatak shifted back a few steps-"who thinks he knows every damn thing and tries to lecture me on what I should and shouldn't be doing!" Xi-Wangs voice rose and rose exponentially until he was yelling himself hoarse. There was a muscle in his tendon that was portruding, his face was red, and his eyes were somewhat watery.

"He's trying to tell me what's the smart thing to be doing!" Xi-Wang roared, taking a step forward and making Noatak back into the trees behind him. "He's telling me to have a plan. He wants me to know what I'm doing." Noatak was now completely pinned, his chest heaving as his gaze alternated between the arrow and Xi-Wang.

"WELL, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT I'M DOING, KID!" Xi-Wang screamed. "I'M GOING TO KILL THE GUYS THAT KILLED THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. IS THAT ENOUGH OF A _PLAN_ FOR YOU? IS THAT A GOOD ENOUGH SENSE OF _WHAT I'M DOING_? HUH?"

Noatak only nodded furiously, feeling the sweat beginning to crawl down his neck. With a flare of his nostrils, Xi-Wang lowered his bow and released the tension, the arrow harmlessly hanging between his two fingers. The energy had been taken from him again. He took a deep breath and replaced the arrow into the quiver before shuffling away and down the path again. Noatak hung back for a moment, gathering his wits and recovering from his trauma. He actually thought that Xi-Wang was going to kill him. He actually thought he was going to die. When Xi-Wang was nearly out of sight and Noatak's breathing and heartbeat had returned to a relatively normal pace, however, Noatak chased after the young man. Xi-Wang didn't apologize when Noatak appeared, although Noatak guessed that he was a little surprised that Noatak still opted to tag along. But he didn't expect an apology from Xi-Wang. They walked in silence until Noatak mumbled almost incomprehensibly, "Sorry."

"Yeah" was all Xi-Wang grunted. But Noatak figured that was about as good as it was going to get.

When it was beginning to get dark and they had gotten through all of Noatak's provisions and about half of Xi-Wangs's, the older of the two finally decided it was time for them to hunker down for the night. Noatak was only too happy to comply, collapsing on the next clear patch of grass he spotted. He gratefully flopped onto the ground and almost fell asleep right then and there. He would've if Xi-Wang hadn't poked his side with his boot.

"Not yet," Xi-Wang growled. "We need to get some firewood and maybe set up some traps."

"I don't know how to hunt," Noatak told Xi-Wang, which was partially true. He didn't know how to hunt in a forest in the Earth Kingdom-and without any bending as one of his weapons. Noatak was used to the open tundra and having water and bloodbending on his side.

"You've never hunted?" Xi-Wang scoffed disbelievingly. Noatak wasn't sure if Xi-Wang thought Noatak was stupid or...well, on second thought, he probably just thought Noatak was stupid.

"It's the truth."

Xi-Wang rolled his eyes and said, "Then at least gather some firewood."

"Okay," Noatak replied. He could at least do that. He got to his feet, ignoring the screams of protest that shot up his body. Two days of hard walking had taken its toll. "How long until the next town?" he asked as he cracked a few stiff parts of his back.

"One, maybe two days if something bad happens," Xi-Wang said ominously. Noatak paused and stared at the man, but if he noticed, he gave no indication. Instead, Xi-Wang wordlessly departed into some random direction into the forest. Noatak went the other direction, deciding that it was best that he gave the older man some space for a while.

As he trekked through the dimming forest and picked up some sticks that didn't seem too wet, Noatak seriously considered whether it was worth staying with Xi-Wang. Certainly, the firebenders were wrong and Xi-Wang deserved justice, and it was pretty obvious that he wasn't going to last long with a few hunting knives and a wooden bow, but it was also true that Noatak had other things that he wanted to do. There was an entire Kingdom to see, and he didn't want to spend his time chasing after a phantom gang of benders for the rest of his life. It wasn't his wife that was killed. And he had the distinct feeling that Xi-Wang didn't want Noatak to stick around, anyway. For that, though, Noatak couldn't really blame him. Upon thinking on it, Noatak realized that he had been insensitive. Xi-Wang didn't need logic to do what he was doing. He didn't need a plan. He just had to move.

_Like, _Noatak realized, _when you left Tarrlok and Yakone a few weeks ago. _Spirits, was it really just a few weeks ago that he'd abandoned his family? It was incredible to think about, really. He paused in his stick gathering and realized that his arms were overflowing with wood, already-and about half of them were damp and cold. He snorted with impatience and discarded msot of the pile before gathering with a bit more attention, now.

When he returned, Xi-Wang was setting up a fire pit. Stones were arranged in an orderly circle and he found some leaves, as well. He looked up when he heard Noatak approach.

"Just in time," Xi-Wang commented. "Here, give them."

Noatak did as he was told, handing the sticks to Xi-Wang for him to arrange. He leaned them against each other with such practice and precision that it was clear that he'd been stuck in quite a few dark nights before. As the sun sank just below the treetops, Xi-Wang dug through his bag and pulled out some flint-smart! Noatak should've thought of bringing that-and struck the stone a few times until a spark caught on the leaves and wood. Some coaxing later, the pair of them were sitting around a large and roaring fire.

Noatak laid out his cloak as his bedding, and Xi-Wang a blanket he'd brought in his bag. How much could he fit in there? They sat and ate the last few morsels of Xi-Wang's food. When that was done, there was really nothing else to do but stare at the fire, each other, or the ground. Finally, Xi-Wang sighed and asked, "Okay, I got to ask."

Noatak froze. He felt his blood chill and his heart rate quicken.

"Why are you helping me?"

Noatak blinked. And then he spluttered and laughed a little at himself.

"What?" Xi-Wang frowned.

"Nothing," Noatak shook his head. "I thought you were just going to ask me about the mask or where I came from or whatever."

"Your business is your business," Xi-Wang said matter-of-factly. "I'm not here to be your dad."

This was a great guy. But Noatak wondered what he'd say if he knew that Noatak had flat out lied whenhe said that he wasn't a waterbender, although technically, he couldn't have done anything either way. He wasn't a healer, after all. But lying to Xi-Wang seemed unfair or wrong somehow. He'd gone through enough, and even though it wouldn't have made much of a difference, Noatak felt like Xi-Wang had the right to know that Noatak really was a bender. For whatever it was worth. But before he could get around to admitting the latter, Xi-Wang repeated, "So, why are you following this old guy around?"

"You're only twenty," Noatak said, bemused. Xi-Wang waved a hand dismissively while saying, "You'll understand when you're older."

Noatak frowned, but he didn't argue. "I was there when she was died, so I guess...that's why. And I can't just leave you in good conscious."

"Why not?"

"Because you're going to die, that's why," Noatak said flatly. Xi-Wang actually laughed a little this time.

"You're a really dark kind of guy for a fourteen year old," Xi-Wang observed with some amusement and some sympathy. Noatak didn't say anything, but Xi-Wang said it for him. "You've been through a lot, yeah?"

"You could say so, I guess." Noatak poked one of the stones of the fire.

"Well, you and me both, kid," Xi-Wang sighed, making to lie onto his blanket.

"I'm not a kid," Noatak said pointedly, his face heating.

"Nah, you're Amon, right?" Xi-Wang chuckled a little. "That's a really opulent alias, you know. It screams 'hiding something'."

"You think so?" Noatak started, touching his mask. He genuinely wanted Xi-Wang's opinion on this. He wasn't a native, after all, so if Xi-Wang thought that this disguise was too obvious...

"Well, I mean, the mask doesn't do you any favors, either," Xi-Wang pointed out. "I wasn't sure if you were trying to make some sort of weird fashion statement or hide your face by replacing it with a more hideous one than the one underneath."

"Funny."

"But seriously, the legend that you're alluding to-because it's pretty obvious which one you're wearing right now-is pretty common. At least around these parts. I don't know why you're hiding your face or why you chose a fake name, but for now, at least, maybe you should try something else."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. It attracts a lot of attention. Look, we can pick up something to cover up your face in the next town over. For now, let's figure out a new name for you."

"I couldn't think of one the first time," Noatak admitted. "And I took 'Amon' from the play. Doesn't that tell you how creative I am?"

"Not a problem. We can just name you after one of the boys from my town," Xi-Wang said offhandedly. Noatak blinked.

"Is that alright?"

"Well, they're not around to complain," Xi-Wang said bitterly. Noatak didn't know what to say to that, so he kept quiet.

"Okay, so there's Takahashi, Shengsheng, Haku, Sato, Lee-Lee is a very common one, actually-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Noatak interrupted Xi-Wang's abrupt list of suggestions.

"What, you want me to repeat them?"

"No, just...wait." Noatak sat for a moment and thought about changing his name. He wasn't sure, however, that he wanted to give up "Amon". He already had a strange attachment even though he'd barely carried that misnomer for barely two days. It was a name that he'd chosen for himself. And it was memorable.

_Perhaps too memorable. _Xi-Wang made a good point. If it was too extravagant, then Noatak should do the smart thing and give up the name. The last thing he needed was attention. But to have a common or forgettable name...

"I think I'll just test it out," Noatak finally said. "In the next town or two. See how it goes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"I guess you like making statements, then," Xi-Wang snorted, getting into a comfortable position on his blanket and turning his back towards Noatak. "Good night, Amon."

Noatak settled on his cloak, warm because of his Water Tribe clothes, although they were now dirty and somewhat torn. It was a shame. They were quite expensive.

"Good night, Xi-Wang."

* * *

**A/N: That was originally going to be the end of the chapter, but then I was like "nothing happened, so I'll just smush ch. 14 with this chapter. Not to say that ch. 14 will have anything important plotwise, but it _is _short. Also, forgive the caps use during the argument they had. I try to use caps sparingly, but at that point, I thought that it was at least somewhat forgiveable?**

**Anyways, onward!**

* * *

"What are the summers like here?"

"Hot and sweaty. You're thankful you live near the coast in those days."

"What about winter?"

"Cold and snowy, but nothing like the North Pole, I would think."

"What're the biggest cities in the Earth Kingdom?"

"Omashu, Ba Sing Se, and Republic City would probably be the big three, but there are other large trading towns."

"Have you ever been to Republic City?"

"No, but I hear that it's really something else. It was founded by Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko."

_I know that much, at least. _"What kind of-"

"O-kay, kid," Xi-Wang cut him off. "That's enough for now. Remember how I said that I'm not here to be your dad?"

"Sorry." Xi-Wang had been quite patient so far, Noatak admitted. He'd probably been peppering him with questions for the last ten minutes of their journey. The two of them lapsed into silence as they continued the last stretch of land before they entered the next town, which they could see from where they were. So far, they hadn't run into the firebending gang that had burned down Xi-Wang's town, but he was convinced that he'd picked up some traces that they had been going the direction that they had been.

"Can you carry these for a while?" Noatak pleaded, presenting the three rabbits that Xi-Wang had successfully trapped and saved strung together. While they hadn't rotted or anything, and it wasn't particularly hot out what day, it wasn't particularly appetizing to carry them around, and they were getting heavy. Xi-Wang wordlessly took the pile from Noatak and swung his game nonchalantly from side to side.

When they finally passed through the gates of the town, Xi-Wang immediately went off to sell the rabbits, which left Noatak some time to wander. There was a lot of activity in this town, although it was mostly because of size, he figured. It was considerably larger than Rika's village, and while he didn't know the exact size of Xi-Wang's, this town must've had the same amount of activity, at least. It was clear that this was a town famous for bartering and trading. Loud voices rose above everything else shouting out prices and new bargains and deals and about everything else that anyone could think of to try and convince people to buy their products or take whatever they were trying to trade away to vendors. Noatak entertained himself by tasting a few samples here and there, laughing at some of the puppet shows going on, and tryin on a few masks just for fun when the booth owner's back was turned. So far, he liked the flying lemur mask the best.

Eventually, Xi-Wang tracked Noatak down at a cleared out space in the town where a large crowd had gathered. There was a circus in town that day, apparently, that had been staying the entire week. Acrobats spun on the ground and did fabulous, incredible tricks over obstacles. They built themselves up to impossible heights. Beast tamers came out. Magicians. Noatak was near the front, craning his head to try and see everything that was going on. Noatak was not especially tall for his age (although, nor was he short), so many of the other Earth Kingdom boys and even ome girls his age had overtaken him, blocking his view. With a dejected sigh, Xi-Wang went over to the boy and parted the path a little for him using his adulthood dominance. He had to admit, it was fun to take advantage of little kids once in a while. Noatak wooped at the final encore of tricks that the circus performed, clapping. If the mask was off, Xi-Wang could tell that he'd be seeing the biggest grin ever on the kid's face.

Finally, when the show was over, Xi-Wang said, "I sold the rabbit, and along with the game that we already skinned and cooked this morning, this means that we have enough money to buy out some rooms. Assuming we find any," Xi-Wang added sourly. He glanced around at the large crowds of people everywhere.

"Did you see that trick that they did?" Noatak asked excitedly, clearly not paying attention to anything Xi-Wang was saying. "How they went like"-Noatak shot his arms into the air to illustrate-"and then"-and he pointed to the side and stood on one foot-"and then they went-"

"O-kay, kid," Xi-Wang said for the second time that day. "Calm down. Spirits, haven't you ever had a good time in your life, before?"

"That would be a no," Noatak sulked, settling back into a more acceptable standing position. Xi-Wang sighed.

"What were you saying about rooms?" Noatak asked helpfully.

"Right. Okay, well, let's find us a hotel or something to stay at for the night, and then we'll set out again in the morning. I haven't seen any benders here-not even in that circus, surprisingly-which is great, but-"

"What do you mean 'great'?" Noatak interrupted him curiously.

"Well, just that it means that this town isn't going to be burned to the ground, either," Xi-Wang answered dryly. "But since there're no benders, that means that there's no reason to stay here any longer than we have to. They might've already passed through. We'll just sleep in a bed for once today, maybe get a bath-by the way, don't you have any changes of clothes?"

"Yeah, but they're kind of big."

"We'll have to see if we have money left over for new clothes."

"You don't have to buy me anything," Noatak insisted hastily.

"I figure I owe you for putting up with me this long," Xi-Wang said offhandedly. Noatak blinked, but before he could say anything, Xi-Wang was plowing through the crowd in order to get to the first lodgings place he saw. Practically six feet tall, Xi-Wang had an imposing presence that allowed him to just walk right through a tight pack of people and slice the group right in half like a knife through butter. Noatak hurried after him before the opening closed up, again.

It took them perhaps six tries before they finally found a place where not all the places had been taken. There were even two beds in the room left. Xi-Wang and Noatak couldn't have been more relieved. They eagerly followed one of the cleaning girls up to the room. The staircase and hallways were swollen with more people going up and down and to and fro, but somehow they managed to squeeze through to their door and burst into their room.

It wasn't very impressive. It was dark, somewhat cramped, and there seemed to be very poor lighting systems. Xi-Wang told Noatak that there were places that had something called "electricity". Noatak had heard of such a thing from Yakone when he talked about Repulic City, but back then, it had really only been a theory. A hopeful concept that could perhaps one day be put to practical use. Apparently, they had made leaps and bounds in recent times, but very few homes had actual electricty running through them. But they could be used for lighting.

This room, however, didn't even use oil lamps or something similar. Instead, it used wax candles. The old ones that cracked every hour to tell you the time. And this one was nearly out. Xi-Wang sighed a little but didn't complain. Instead, he threw his bag somewhere random and took off his bow, quiver, and knives and threw himself into one of the beds. Noatak followed suit, practically flying into the remaning bed and smiling whenhe felt actual cloth and blankets beneath his cheek. And there was a _pillow. _Spirits, he missed pillows. He immediately crawled under the covers and sighed, "If you have errands to run, you can count me out."

Xi-Wang's only response was a deep and contented snore.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: don't worry, there should be some plot elements in this one. ^^''**

* * *

Noatak insisted that they used the remaining money to buy a few more practical provisions-a bone needle and thread (this made him somewhat uncomfortable, because it had always been Tarrlok that had excelled in needlework, not Noatak-which he thought was not something to be upset about until this moment), an up-to-date map, an extra flint stone in case Xi-Wang lost his, and a few other odds and ends. Xi-Wang agreed that, at the end of the day, the investment had been well spent. They went on their way that mid-afternoon towards the next town.

It was hard to remember sometimes that Xi-Wang was a man out for vengeance. His demeanor, most of the time, was relatively genial. Certainly, he had this sort of dry humor about him and sometimes he became crass in a conversation, but he was not brooding or raging every three minutes about his terrible life and how he was going to kill every last human being left on the earth. But occassionally, when Noatak and he were not talking and had not been talking for a while, Noatak would notice a dark shadow come over Xi-Wang that seemed to contort his face and change his aura. It was clear in those times that he had not forgotten the reason why he was walking with purpose. Noatak wished he would just let go of his stupid quest. It was going to get him killed, and there was so many other things that they could do instead of wasting their time on revenge. But Noatak felt that he'd forged a surprisingly strong bond with Xi-Wang over the last few days, and was unwilling to leave him now because of brotherly feelings instead of moralistic ones. Besides, there was no one else in the Earth Kingdom that he knew.

They had gone perhaps three feet from the town when a sharp cry sounded from behind them.

"He-ee-ee-eey!" the voice drew its call out. Xi-Wang and Noatak turned to see a train of caravans rolling towards them, pulled by very formidable looking tiger oxes. The pair of them paused as the caravans came closer. Someone in the front had their head out of the side and was waving at them furiously to slow down.

"I knew I recognized you," the owner of the voice said, his hair shockingly long and incredibly well kept. At the moment, it as done up on the top of his head and finished with a hiliariously small hat that was perched on his knot of hair like a colorful bird in a nest. "Not that that mask is hard to forget."

Noatak self consciously put a hand on his mask while Xi-Wang asked, "How can we help you?"

"It looks like you need a lift," the man said genially. "How about we give you a ride?"

"Is that really alright?" Xi-Wang asked cautiously.

"Don't worry. Besides the ringmaster, I'm pretty much the guy in charge," the guy laughed. "I'm Bozu. Nice to meet you!"

"Xi-Wang Liu," Xi-Wang introduced himself. Then he put a hand on Noatak's head and said, "And this kid is Noamon."

"Just 'Amon', thanks," Noatak said petulantly, swatting away Xi-Wang's hand. As if they were sharing some private joke, Xi-Wang and Bozu erupted into grand laughter. Still chortling, Bozu beckoned Xi-Wang and Noatak onto one of the caravans. Thanking him, the pair chose a random caravan that didn't look too full already and climbed in. Noatak only just noticed that they had chosen the caravan that had all of the incredibly skilled acrobats before a horn was blown and they were off with a small jolt.

"Hi there!" one of the girl acrobats waved cheerfully. In contrast to Bozu, her hair was cropped short to the point where she almost looked like a boy save for her delicate features. Her large brown eyes looked over Noatak curiously. "Hey, you're that kid from the other day, right? You were having a lot of fun at our show, right?"

"Yes, it was great," Noatak said honestly. The acrobats clapped and whooped and called out "thank you"s and "you're too kind"s. One of them actually got up and bowed to everyone in the caravan while everyone else cheered.

"Thank you very much!" they all said in unison suddenly. They arranged themselves into a practiced arrangement were everyone could be seen and they still made a dynamic whole. "We're Troop Tai Li! Thanks for being a wonderful crowd!" Xi-Wang and Noatak clapped with appropriate zeal, grinning.

"I'm Aya," the short haired girl told the pair of them when the acrobats had settled down.

"Xi-Wang," Xi-Wang said.

"Amon," Noatak added quickly before Xi-Wang could pull a fast one on him again.

"Like the Spirit in that one legend?" a younger looking boy in the corner asked in wonder.

"Yeah, that guy," Noatak affirmed because he didn't see a reason to outright deny it. The caravan was filled with murmurs of excitement and amazement.

"Your parents must be expecting great things out of you, Amon," one of the older men laughed a little. The others joined him. Xi-Wang cast Noatak a small glance while Noatak chuckled a bit mechanically and anwered with a too-high voice, "You can say that, again."

For the rest of the trip, the acrobats entertained Noatak and Xi-Wang with stories of their travels. Their circus was a traveling one, and they therefore lived more of a nomadic life than anything. None of them minded, though, and they honestly preferred it instead of being stuck in one villiage or city forever.

"What about bandits?" Xi-Wang pointed out in the middle of one of their epic tales. "Or rogue benders? What do you do against them?"

The acrobats paused and grinned at each other slyly before Aya explained, "We're not completely helpless, you know."

"What, you know how to fight?" Xi-Wang asked, dubiously looking over everyone's brightly colored pink and white outfits complete with bangles and beads. Noatak could understand why Xi-Wang would think that these people couldn't hurt a fly, but he also knew that power came from very unexpected places.

"Well, I mean, it's not like we can take down an entire army-but do you remember when you took down that probender, Sen?" Aya laughed, and the others joined her.

"What's a probender?" Noatak murmured to Xi-Wang underneath their chuckles.

"It's a bender that plays in Probending. It's a sport they play in Republic City," Xi-Wang explained quickly. "They're some of the best benders in the world, apparently. The sport's only reserved for benders, though. Pretty much makes them into gods or something," he added with venom. Noatak started and considered Xi-Wang critically. It was rare that he every voiced any real dislike or abhorrence for benders everywhere, but when he did, Xi-Wang was unforgiving. Noatak hoped this was only some sort of phase, because he didn't want Xi-Wang to hold onto this anger forever, but he was becoming less and less inclined to tell Xi-Wang that he was a bender.

"What sort of fighting is it?" Xi-Wang pressed. The acrobats looked at him curiously and Noatak swallowed hard. He could tell why Xi-Wang was anxious to learn what this fighting style was.

"Well, I mean, if you really want to know," Aya said a little uncomfortably, "it's called Chi-Blocking. You hit places in a person's body to block their chi. On a regular person, it makes it impossible to move. It does the same thing for benders, and if you do it right, they can't bend anymore for a little bit, too. It wears off, though."

"You can turn off a bender's bending?" Xi-Wang said in a hushed voice.

"Well, I mean, _yeah_," Aya chuckled a little nervously, "but like I said: it's only for a little while. They'll be able to bend after a few minutes or so."

_A few minutes would be all that Xi-Wang would need, _Noatak internalized, already seeing the little cogs in Xi-Wang's brain beginning to turn.

"Can you teach me this style?" Xi-Wang pressed. The acrobats looked at each other. A few of them shifted in their seats, and all of them seemed to thoroughly regret bringing up the subject in the first place.

"I'd like to learn, too," Noatak put in suddenly. "It sounds like it could be helpful. My friend and I-we're travelling, and we will be for a while. It would be great to have a fighting style we can use. Neither of us are benders, but we don't have enough money to pay for transportation. We're afraid bandits or something might attack us."

The troop seemed somewhat less wary after they heard Noatak's explanation. Xi-Wang threw him a grateful look, but he ignored it, saying, "We'd be extremely grateful if you'd just teach us even one or two moves."

With a helpless sigh, the man that Aya had called Sen shrugged. He was rather feminine looking, with a slight body and soft features. It was hard to believe that he'd taken down what Xi-Wang had said was one of the best benders around.

"Well, what can a few tricks do? I'll teach you a couple, if you want."

"Thank-" Noatak began to say, but Sen cut him off.

"This isn't going to be easy, though. If you really want to learn how to do these moves right, we first have to condition your bodies. Chi-Blocking depends on agility and flexibility. It's not like a boxing match. The trick is avoidance, getting closer to your enemy, and striking when you see the chance. You understand?"

"So you mean that we'll have to be flipping and stuff like you guys?" Xi-Wang asked.

"Pretty much, yeah. And it's not as easy as it looks."

"When do we start?" Sen grinned at Xi-Wang's zeal.

"We can start when we stop for a moment on the road. No use trying to teach you how to flip in here."

When they finally did start training, Noatak realized that Sen hadn't been kidding; they hadn't even started with the Chi-Blocking style and he was worn out ten minutes into the physical conditioning. His breathing was labored and his cheeks ruddy as Sen ordered another ten seconds on their handstands. And then another twenty cartwheels. And then fifteen push ups. It felt more like military training than anything else, and Noatak fully appreciated how much power acrobats had in their bodies. Xi-Wang seemed to have little trouble with the strength exercises: push ups, curl ups, and the like, which Noatak was unused to and quickly ran out of energy doing. Xi-Wang, however, seemed to be able to do fifty push ups for every one Noatak was able to manage. Xi-Wang later explained that it came from the labor he would do and had done for years at his village. He was well conditioned, even though he never did any formal exercises.

Conversely, Noatak found the acrobatic aspect of the training much easier. His somersaults, airborne flips, and mid-air spins were fluid and had the air of such casualness that he was almost ashamed, especially when he saw how much Xi-Wang was struggling to control his own lanky limbs to do some of the more basic moves. It was no wonder, however, that Noatak found this easier. While he might not have been any airbender, waterbending fights had their fair share of movement. Coupled with the fluid motions that needed to be done to waterbend, it wasn't uncommon to see some of the more advanced waterbenders spinning or bending back until they were almost parallel to the ground and flipping over while shooting streams of water or freezing the ground at their enemy's feet. Yakone had begun this sort of physical training when Noatak was younger, and Master Katara had built on it until Noatak could stand toe-to-toe with her with relative ease in fast paced battles (which she insisted they had often). All Noatak had to do now, then, was to make sure he didn't try and bend any nearby water sources.

The training was so arduous and grueling that Xi-Wang and Noatak weren't even close to learning Chi-Blocking when they arrived to the next town five days later. While they were sorely tempted to go to the nearest hotel and sleep there until next year, Xi-Wang insisted that they stayed with the troop until they finally learned Chi-Blocking. Noatak was both surprised and not surprised at all. He was surprised that Xi-Wang was willing to put off his search for the firebenders to spend perhaps months with a nomadic circus to train. Then again, Noatak wasn't surprised because it was merely a mean to an end. Dutifully, Noatak stayed by Xi-Wang's side. He didn't have the heart to abandon him, now.

It took the pair of them a total of a month and a half until Sen was satisfied that they were at the appropriate level to start Chi-Blocking, although they weren't exempt from the physical exercises, either. They had barely made the minimum, as Sen said rather bluntly.

"You'll be good enough when you can do the troop's entire routine," he told them. Noatak, over the month and a half, had seen the routine many, many times, and his arms trembled just at the thought of doing it himself.

Thankfully, Chi-Blocking was somewhat less rigorous on the body than the conditioning was. And it was much more interesting. Still, it required Noatak and Xi-Wang to memorize all of the chi points on the human body to perfection. They spent the mornings making laps around the camp and doing their daily cycles through their exercises before they departed indoors to pour over piles of maps of the human body. Noatak was thankful that Sen wasn't skimping on their training, but it would've been nice if they had a little bit of leniency. It wasn't like they were looking to do this for their entire lives. Xi-Wang approached the chi points study with pointed aggression, hoewever, and never indulged in any sort of conversation with Noatak during the study times. In fact, Xi-Wang hardly spoke to Noatak at all, anymore. Before, they would talk about the Earth Kingdom-or rather, Noatak would ask questions and Xi-Wang would answer-but lately they had been so tired and engrossed in their training that they didn't have the breath to talk, anyway, and now Xi-Wang was too absorbed in disabling a bender's greatest weapon to pay any attention to Noatak.

Spring came and went, and with it was Noatak's birthday. He nearly forgot about it and didn't even realize he did until he spotted a calendar pinned up on the wall of one of the grocers he went to in a random town the circus had stopped at. At that point, his birthday had been three days ago. He didn't mention it to anyone, because he was uninterested in having a large party or fuss, and it seemed petty to him, but he did give himself a small, quiet cheer for turning fifteen and spent a little more money on some sweets. He figured he was entitled to that, at least.

Unlike most Water Tribe children, Noatak was born in the spring, when everyone else was born in the winter. Tarrlok was one of these people, as was Yakone, although by Noatak's recollection, his mother's birthday was some time in the summer. Noatak liked that his birthday was in the spring, because that meant that everyone remembered it. When all the children around you have birthdays in the winter, your own tended to fade into the background and lose some of its significance. Noatak had noted this whenever Tarrlok's birthday came around. Within the same week as Tarrlok's birthday, there were at least three other birthdays in their small town. Winter birthdays became more of a chore than a celebration in the Water Tribes.

After three straight weeks of drilling and memorization, Xi-Wang and Noatak could locate some of the major chi points with unerring accuracy on an unmarked diagram and most of the minor ones. Noatak, with a knack for memorizing routines, forms, and techniques, had all but three memorized to the dot. Xi-Wang had a few more than that, but even then, they numbered about seven, at most. Sen decided that those numbers were acceptable and began to instruct them on dummies stuffed with straw. Noatak and Xi-Wang would punch and jab according to Sen's directions. He taught them the specific technicalities that were associated with Chi-Blocking, showing them the controlled strikes and rapid successsion they needed to mimic if they ever hoped to block any enemy's chi successfully. This was where Noatak struggeld the most. The style was so unlike the fluidity of waterbending that Sen actually had to shout at him along every punch he threw to do it correctly. Still, it took Noatak a week just to get accostommed to fast, straightforward movements, and other week to actually put some _oomph _behind them.

At last, when Sen decided there was little more that they could learn from practicing on dummies, he presented them with an actual human target.

"Come on," he said to them one day, exasperated. "This is what you wanted, wasn't it?"

Xi-Wang and Noatak considered each other nervously.

"Don't worry. It'll wear off after a while. And I'm tougher than I look. And this is assuming you'll do it correctly, anyway," Sen added somewhat dryly.

"Why don't we just...I don't know. You've taught us a lot. We can just leave now and use these skills when we need them," Noatak said.

"A band of rogues is a really bad time to test out half-baked theories and dummy training," Sen pointed out. "It's much more constructive to figure out where you need to improve here."

"Still..."

"If he wants us to take him down, then we'll take him down!" Xi-Wang finally snapped impatiently and shot forward, ignoring Noatak's shout. With a loud battle cry, Xi-Wang threw a punch at Sen's shoulder, aiming for a chi point, but at the last minute, Sen stepped aside, seized Xi-Wang's wrist, twisted it, and somehow made him flip onto the ground onto his back. Xi-Wang groaned and cringed as he tried to move.

"What was that about taking me down?"

With a snarl, Xi-Wang flipped back up again, his pain forgotten, and tried to lay a few hits on Sen. Sen easily dodged all of Xi-Wang's attacks. Finally, after about thirty fruitless seconds, Sen apparently lost his patience. Noatak wasn't sure how he missed it, but one moment Sen seemed to have teleported to Xi-Wang's side, and the next moment, Xi-Wang was on the ground again. His teeth were gritted and he was gripping his right arm, although it didn't seem to be moving at all.

_Chi-blocked, _Noatak thought to himself nervously. Sen straightened up and pushed a few stray hairs out of his face.

"Your turn, Amon," he announced. Swallowing, Noatak adjusted his mask and got into a bit more appropriate stance. He didn't try and charge in like Xi-Wang did. Instead, he shifted to the right, and Sen reacted by stepping to his own right. The pair of them circled, their eyes never leaving each other.

During his training with Master Katara, she had fought every one of her other students to see how they measured up (and, Noatak had thought privately, to teach them a lesson about humility). Very few of them actually tried to have some ingenuity, the girls struggled to make even one water whip, and most of them ended up shooting malformed, awkward streams of water at Master Katara that she either deflected or simply sidestepped without any effort. None of them lasted longer than thirty seconds, even with Master Katara going very easy on them. Noatak, of course, ended up being one of the most skilled in the class.

"It's because of his adaptability," Master Katara explained one day to the waterlogged line of students. "Many of you were very predicable in your attacks, which made it easier to beat you. You have to remember your environment and that your opponent isn't going to stand still and take your attacks. To be a good fighter, you have to observe and adapt to what your opponent is doing. And don't forget to _move your feet. _Staying in one place will be your downfall. Don't make yourself an easy target."

At the time, Noatak didn't notice, but now he remembered that Master Katara had said these things in reference to being a good fighter, not just a good waterbender. He kept these thoughts close to him as he tried to see some sort of opening for an attack. After one full circle, however, he saw none, and decided that he would just have to try his luck. Swiftly and silently, Noatak darted for Sen's side. If he could disable even one of his hands...

With a small yelp muffled by his mask, Noatak arched backwards, avoiding Sen's fist by mere centimeters before he withdrew them. Noatak, nearly falling over, could do nothin but do a few flips back. The distance he'd covered in his run had been completely cancelled out. He was merely back where he started.

Sen looked faintly amused, a small smile tugging at his lips as he started circling again. Narrowing his eyes, Noatak did the same.

What could he do in this situation? What was his solution? Noatak already knew that he wouldn't be able to beat Sen simply because of skill differences, but he hoped that he would at least last for a while like he had with Master Katara. Maybe Noatak should go for Sen's legs? Being shorter, that might actually be to Noatak's advan-

Noatak spun out of the way as Sen's fist appeared and thrusted past his head. Noatak jumped back a few paces to gather himself as Sen came at him again. When he was directly in front of Noatak, he threw a few punches. Noatak avoided most of them by swerving or swatting them aside, but at least two of them made their mark. Noatak groaned and gripped his side. It was aching from Sen's strikes, and Noatak found that it wouldn't listen to his commands anymore. His movement had slowed and he was unable to do any spins or flips without pain shooting up and down the area.

Seconds later, Noatak was face down in the dirt, sand getting into his eyes and mouth. Try and his might, he couldn't move his left leg or right arm, and his side was still unresponsive as well.

"Well, that was a terrible first day," Sen said with a bored expression, looking unconcerned at the sight of two groaning bodies on the ground. "I guess I'll see you two tomorrow."


End file.
